2008 Olympic Games.

Playboy and a raft of other limited foreign publications may be available for visitors to the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a temporary exception, as China mulls easing its controls for the Games in step with international practice.

“Our law forbids Playboy and we should obey this, but we can’t rule out the possibility that it might make its debut,” Liang Jianrui, Vice-President of China National Publications Import and Export Corporation (CNPIEC) said.

CNPIEC will manage the nine magazine-selling kiosks sanctioned by the Olympic organisers during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with each selling 100 kinds of newspapers and magazines, including those difficult to find in Beijing like The New York Times, Newsweek and The Sun, the latter famous for its topless Page 3 models.

“We will provide most of  the world’s top-selling newspapers and magazines,” Liang said to
the state-run China Daily in its weekly supplement on the Olympics.

Playboy remained a highly controversial choice at the Olympic village, the newspaper said but pointed
out to the growing trend in China to experiment with magazines that were once considered dangerous or unsanitary.

The relaxation of curbs on magazines and newspapers is in line with the Olympic protocol, the newspaper said, noting that earlier host cities such as Athens, Sydney and Atlanta were also asked to ensure journalists and athletes had access to all leading international publications.

An employee displays a gold bar featuring Fuwa, the Beijing Olympics mascot, in Beijing, Jan. 2, 2008. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad and the China Banknote Painting and Minting Corporation jointly issued a series of gold and silver bars to commemorate the Beijing Olympics.

An employee displays a silver bar featuring Fuwa, the Beijing Olympics mascot, in Beijing, Jan. 2, 2008. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad and the China Banknote Painting and Minting Corporation jointly issued a series of gold and silver bars to commemorate the Beijing Olympics.

    LOS ANGELES, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) — The Beijing Olympic Float joined the renown Pasadena Tournament of Rose Parade in Los Angeles on Tuesday, giving the show a spectacular flavor.

    Millions of spectators from around the world cheered as the Beijing Olympic Float passed.

    The Rose Parade featured magnificent floral floats, high-stepping equestrians and spirited marching bands, displaying the tradition and pageantry for which it is renowned.

    The Beijing Olympic Float, organized by the Roundtable of Southern California Chinese-American Organizations and sponsored by Pasadena-based Avery Dennison Corp., was one of the highlights of the 119th Rose Parade.

    This was the first time that the Chinese people from the Chinese mainland and overseas Chinese have joined their hands in participating in the grand gala in its 119-year history.

    The float represented the good wills of overseas Chinese to the upcoming Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, organizers said.

    The theme of this year’s New Year’s Day parade is “Passport to the World’s Celebrations.” It featured 46 floats, 21 marching bands and 18 equestrian units.

    The Beijing Olympic Float themed “One World, One Dream” was a generous gift from the Beijing Olympic Games to the American people and the Parade, according to the organizers.

    The float featured the upcoming Olympics’ five official mascots rotating on a base and decorated with a combination of flowers, including carnations and daisy petals.

    Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard said the Beijing Olympics Float ” celebrates a great international tradition of competition, discipline and commitment to strong human values.”

    ”The tournament views the float as I do, as a celebration of the Olympic Games,” Bogaard said.

    ”The Tournament of Roses, which now has a history extending over 119 years, is a nonpolitical organization,” he said. “It celebrates a great competition consistent with the theme of the Rose Parade this year, which is the World’s Great Celebrations.”

    ”My sense is that the spirit of the day will be to celebrate the strength and the positive achievements of people,” Bogaard said.

    Richardson Rowe, a tourist from New York, said the Beijing Olympic Float gave a new meaning to the Rose Parade on the New Year eve. “The beautifully-decorated float impressed me a great deal. It serves as a vivid introduction to the Beijing Olympic Games,” he said.

    This year’s Rose Parade was broadcast on the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Univision, HGTV, Travel Channel, Discovery HD as well as several local television stations in the Los Angeles area.