BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Voters in the remote British-ruled Falkland Islands hold a referendum on their future on Sunday that seeks to challenge Argentina's increasingly vocal sovereignty claim.

Thirty-one years since Britain and Argentina went to war over the windswept archipelago in the South Atlantic, tensions between London and Buenos Aires are running high. That has unsettled some of the roughly 2,500 islanders and strengthened patriotic feeling.

Just 1,649 Falklands-born and long-term residents are registered to vote in the two-day referendum starting on Sunday in which they will be asked whether they want to remain a British overseas territory.

A near-unanimous "yes" vote is likely, prompting Argentina to dismiss the referendum as a publicity stunt. British bookmaker Ladbrokes described the result as "the biggest certainty in political betting history" and said no one had placed a bet on a "no" vote.

But high turnout is expected as islanders embrace the ballot as an opportunity to make their voices heard.

"People feel strongly about this. It's our chance to make a unified stand on something that affects us deeply," said Kerri Jamieson, a Falklands-born small business owner who has been selling commemorative referendum T-shirts.

So far she has sold about 50 T-shirts bearing the logo "Our Islands, Our Decision," and the orders keep coming in.

Jamieson lives in a remote West Falkland settlement, where a mobile voting station will be flown in to allow the handful of residents to cast their ballots.

In the quiet island capital of Stanley, where most islanders live, the post office has produced a line of official stamps to mark the occasion.

"For the Argentines, it's just an academic exercise, but for us, it affects us enormously," Jamieson said.

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Falkland Islands defy Argentine sovereignty push with referendum