Race a factor in US reality show

The 20 'castaways' from the 13th season of reality show Survivor Enlarge Image

The 20 "castaways" in the 13th season of US reality show Survivor will be divided according to their ethnicity.

The contestants will be segregated into four "tribes" of blacks, whites, Asians and Latinos when the hit CBS programme returns on 14 September.

Among the participants "stranded" on the Cook Islands will be a lawyer, a policeman and a heavy metal guitarist.

Organisers said they were addressing complaints that previous series had not been sufficiently ethnically diverse.

"So we said, 'Let's turn this criticism into creativity,'" host Jeff Probst told CBS's Early Show.

"It fits in perfectly with what Survivor does. It is a social experiment."

Each series of the show maroons a diverse group of individuals on a remote island, setting them tasks and whittling them down until one winner remains.

Richard Hatch, winner of the first season in 2000, was subsequently jailed for not paying taxes on his $1m prize money.