Swedish fast fashion giant H&M on Tuesday said it had pulled an advert for school clothing, which critics said sexualized young girls.

The campaign was launched in Australia and featured two young girls in school uniform with the caption "Make those heads turn in H&M's Back to School fashion".

Social media users pilloried the company for the ad, which has since been withdrawn.

"We have removed this ad," a company spokesperson told AFP. "We are deeply sorry for the offense this has caused and we are looking into how we present campaigns going forward."

On the Mumsnet parenting website, user "pickledandpuzzled" asked how the advert had been approved in the first place.

"It's been taken down, but why aren't these things spotted? What's the thought process that generates these ads?"