The Simpsons is now in its 18th series on US television

The cartoon series is based in its own fictional town of Springfield - creator Matt Groening has said he chose it because it is a common US city name.

Film company 20th Century Fox will pick a winning short film submitted by the real-life cities about community life.

The fictional Springfield boasts several prisons and a nuclear plant. The series is now in its 18th year.

"There's plenty of serious issues to talk about, but this is something that we might as well try to have a little fun with," the mayor of Springfield, Oregon, Sid Leiken, told local newspaper the Register-Guard.

Worldwide success

The Simpsons revolves around the antics of bald, beer-guzzling family man Homer and his spiky-haired son Bart.

It is the longest-running prime-time entertainment series on television in the US and a worldwide hit.

There has long been speculation about whether it would be turned into a film.

Groening has said that the animated hit would keep going as long as he and his colleagues could keep generating fresh ideas.

"That's what you're looking for in television - surprise," he added.