A child found on the Greek island of Kos is not the missing Denise Pipitone, dubbed Italy's Madeleine McCann.

Greek police had seized the girl and arrested a 34-year-old Roma woman she was with following a tip off from Interpol after a family friend of the missing girl thought she had spotted her on Kos.

But DNA tests proved the girl was not Denise, but in fact the child of the woman arrested.

Denise Pipitone: DNA tests confirmed the girl spotted on the Greek Island of Kos was not her

'The DNA test has shown that the Roma woman of Albanian origin is the natural mother of the girl,' said police spokesman Panagiotis Stathis.

Denise Pipitone disappeared in Sept 2004 while playing in the street of her hometown Mazara del Vallo, near Trapani in Sicily. She was four years old when she went missing.

Her mother, Piera Maggio, has always insisted she was alive and often appealed on television for help in finding her.

A report is to be handed to a Greek prosecutor investigating the case who is expected to rule in favour of the Albanian mother, who had originally been arrested for kidnapping.

Earlier this week an Italian tourist grew suspicious after being offered a bracelet by the girl and her 30-year-old female companion.

He was amazed the child spoke fluent Italian, but the woman, who claimed to be her mother, did not.

Urgent DNA tests were ordered after a picture of the child was shown to Denise's mother, who said the birthmark and the shape of the eyes were 'exactly the same' as her daughter's.

Denise Pipitone's case bears striking similarities to Madeleine McCann, who was abducted in May 2007 in Praia da Luz, Portugal, 9 days before her 4th birthday.

Last month, Belgian police investigated a new sighting of Madeleine after  a bank security guard in Brussels, Belgium saw a blonde, blue eyed girl bearing a striking resemblance to Madeleine.

Six weeks after Denise disappeared from Mazzaro dell Vallo near Palermo, a bank guard in Milan saw a distressed little girl with a group of Roma gypsies.

He made a videoclip with his mobile phone but did not approach them. The footage was given to the police who showed it to Mrs Pipitone. She said she was certain the child was her Denise.

Mrs Pipitone said: 'I never believed the stories about her being taken or harmed by someone from within the family.

'People profited out of our anguish by making up stories about what had happened to Denise, but I have never stopped looking for her.'