Actress Cameron Diaz has created controversy in Peru for a fashion faux pas concerning a Maoist slogan imprinted on her bag.

The 34-year-old actress, the voice of Princess Fiona in the Shrek films, is visiting the Inca city of Machu Picchu in the country's Andes mountain range, filming an episode for MTV Canada.

Cameron Diaz takes pictures at the ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru with a bag that reads, in Chinese characters, 'Serve the People,' an infamous Maoist phrase.
(Karel Navarro/Associated Press)

She carried an olive green bag adorned with a red star and the words "Serve the People" printed in Chinese characters.

The phrase is considered one of the most famous political slogans of Mao Zedong, the former leader of the Chinese Communist Party.

The words have particular resonance in Peru, where the Maoist Shining Path movement terrorized citizens during the 1980s to early 1990s with a deadly campaign of bombings and massacres. Nearly 70,000 people died during that period.

Peruvian human rights activist Pablo Rojas spoke out about the actress's inadvertent blunder.

"It alludes to a concept that did so much damage to Peru, that brought about so many victims," said Rojas.

"I don't think she should have used that bag where the followers of that ideology" did so much damage.

Diaz appeared oblivious to the controversy she stirred up, smiling and enthusiastically taking many pictures of the ancient site and the town of Cuzco.

With files from the Associated Press