Alessandria, 3 July (AKI) - A 15-year-old Pakistani girl who jumped from a balcony in northern Italy after refusing an arranged marriage says she wants to become an Italian citizen.

"I no longer want to be Pakistani," said the girl, named only as 'Piccola' by Turin-based daily La Stampa.

An investigation is being opened into Piccola's desperate attempt to escape the future her parents planned for her - marriage to a teenage Pakistani cousin.

"They had agreed to marry me to my cousin, a 16-year-old who I don't love," she said.

Piccola is currently in hospital with a broken leg after leaping from her family's balcony in the town of Alessandria.

Piccola, who has grown up in Italy, is said to be well integrated here. She wears western-style clothes as well as a headscarf and has Italian friends.