Euroroc, the European confederation of stone organisations, is planning to introduce a symbol to identify products that really are natural stone.

The move comes as a response to the number of ceramic, resin and concrete products that like to use the words \'natural\' and \'stone\' in their marketing.

The mark is intended to help customers identify the real thing so they do not unwittingly end up with some unnatural imitation.

The logo represents a rough block of stone with the lettering "Natural Stone", a term that can be translated into various languages.

There could be an obstacle in getting international acceptance of the logo because Italy, Europe\'s biggest stone producer and trader, already has its own natural stone logo, the Pietra Naturale.

Euroroc originally wanted to adopt this logo, created by the Italian association Assomarmi, but the Italians were asking too high a price for it, so Euroroc decided to develop their own mark.