I am a Democratic Socialist Republic and Island country in South Asia, founded in 1972, although I date back some 300,000 years, when I was originally named Thambapanni, Seredib and Celiao.


I was colonised in 1505 by the Portuguese when explorer Lourenco de Almeida travelled the Indian Ocean. I began exporting tea, coffee, coconuts, rubber and cinnamon. My official languages are Tamil and Sinhala.


The national sport here is volleyball, but I do have a very successful cricket side, who won the 1996 Cricket World Cup. Tourist sites include the Temple of the Sacred Tooth and Uda Walawe National Park.


I have two capital cities Sri Jayawardenepura ( Jaya Warden E Pura ) Kotte as the administrative and Colombo as the commercial.


I gained independence in 1948 and D S Senanayake ( Senna ana Yake ) became the first Prime Minister of Celyon, but it wasn't until 1972 that my name change from Ceylon to...... ?