A New Zealand school girl repeatedly mistaken for missing Madeleine McCann has given police a DNA sample so Scotland Yard can confirm that she is not the youngster.
She has been consistently pointed out as the youngster, who went missing in May 2007 while on holiday with her parents and twin siblings.
The New Zealand girl bears a striking resemblance to Madeleine, and is believed to have a mark on her right eye similar to the distinctive one on the British girl's iris.
Confusion: A girl in New Zealand has been repeatedly mistaken for Madeleine McCann, pictured, and is now undergoing a DNA test to confirm she is not the missing child.
Police launched a five-day investigation in January when a Queenstown retailer became suspicious of a man and the young girl.
The sample was requested following a reported sighting of Madeleine on New Year’s Eve.
The DNA sample is a conclusive way of proving her identity, according to Detective Senior Sergeant Kallum Croudis of Dunedin police, News.com.au reported.
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said, 'This is not a line of inquiry, but just to corroborate what police in New Zealand are saying we have requested DNA,' the Daily Mirror reported.
Relentless: Kate and Gerry McCann have never given up their quest to track down their missing daughter
Digital image: This pictured released by police last year shows how Madeleine might look five years on.
Madeleine was nearly four when she vanished from her family's Portuguese holiday apartment in Praia da Luz as her parents, Gerry and Kate, ate dinner at a nearby tapas restaurant with friends.
The case led to a worldwide search amidst fears the girl had been snatched, but despite a number of leads coming to light no trace of Madeleine has every been conclusively found.
Since the disappearance, officials have from time to time issued digitally altered images showing what she might look like over the passage of time.
Portuguese police stopped formally investigating the case in July 2008, but Madeleine's family have never given up their quest to track down their missing daughter.
Holiday: Madeleine disappeared while she was with her family in Praia da Luz, pictured, in the Algarve region.
Mrs McCann has ploughed £1million from sales of her book back into the search.
The bestseller, entitled simply Madeleine, was published in 2011 on the day of her eighth birthday.
Madeleine's Fund hit £1.8million shortly after the three-year-old vanished from her family’s holiday.
But by 2011, after four years of searching, it had dwindled to £125,000.
Official papers filed with Companies House show all the money raised from the 384-page book went to the fund.
The fund's directors said: 'Income from the book has significantly improved the position.'
This case could have been solved years ago. Arrest the parents, because they are the ones who got rid of their daughter. It's not just my opinion either.
The McCann's are even cashing in on a book they have written, why would they want to make money on the disappearance of their daughter? they did it alright, it i am ever proved wrong, i'll hold my hands up, but not before.