A toned-down Playboy for Indonesia

INDONESIA: A toned-down edition of Playboy magazine went on sale Friday in the world's most populous Muslim nation, defying demands from Islamic leaders that the publication be banned.

The magazine does not feature nude women, and its photos of female models are no more risque than those in other magazines already for sale in the country, according to an Associated Press photographer who saw an advance copy.

Still, one Muslim leader said the magazine posed more of a threat to Indonesia than terrorism by al-Qaida linked militants that have killed hundreds of people in the sprawling country in recent years.

"This is a kind of moral terrorism that destroys the way of the life of the nation in a systematic and long-term way," state news agency Antara quoted Yusuf Hasyim as saying, calling on Muslim youth not to attack shops selling the magazine.

Protesters hit the streets in towns across Indonesia when the magazine announced in January it was planning a local version, but it remains to be seen whether demonstrations will pick up again after people have read it.

Magazines featuring photos of scantily clad women, including Indonesian versions of Western magazines FHM and Maxim, are already sold in shops.

JAKARTA, Friday AP