The salacious Starr report has been banned

Details of United States President Bill Clinton's affair with White House intern, Monica Lewinsky, outlined in Indepedent Counsel Kenneth Starr's report, offended the Chinese traditionalists.

But correspondents say the seizure coincides with an increasingly open attitude to sex among the Chinese public, which is challenging traditionalists and the authorities in China.

And before it was declared an illicit publication by anti-pornography officials, the Chinese printed edition of the Starr report became a best-seller.

Lifestyle change

Sex shops are springing up

The trend among the young is moving towards more openness about sex.

And in the fast-moving world of Chinese fashion, semi-nudity is now widely accepted - Beijing even hosts its own underwear show.

Sex shops are becoming a familiar sight in the capital and elsewhere, and their staff have seen a sea change in Chinese attitudes.

Chinese Sexologist Dr Hua says: "As living standards improve, we are gradually accepting that sex is a normal physiological activity."

Sex on display

Shanghai now boasts a sex museum

And a new Chinese museum in Shanghai uses artefacts and sculpture to explore the history of the formerly taboo subject.

The curator of the sex museum says that the concept of traditional sexual conservatism is a myth.

Kissing in public places was frowned upon

According to Liu Dalin, talking about sex was commonplace and people were free to have love affairs up until about 1,000 years ago.