Playboy may come to India under a different name, sans pics

Our Corporate Bureau
02 December 2005

New York: Playboy Enterprises Inc, which owns the famed Playboy magazine the world over, is planning to launch a men's magazine in India. However, the magazine launched in India will not feature the magazines' trademark nudes or even its name, said Christie Hefner chief executive of the company.

Addressing the Reuters Media and Advertising summit, Hefner said the magazine would be an extension of Playboy and be focussed around the lifestyle, pop culture, celebrity, fashion, sports and interviews elements of Playboy. But according to her the magazine would not have nudity and it would not be called Playboy, she said.

Started by the inimitable Hugh Hefner in 1953 from an apartment, Playboy caters to local tastes and traditions around the world with its 20 editions rather than exporting the US content. The magazine would do the same in India she said.

Playboy is also talking to publishers in other countries from which it had earlier withdrawn, and others where it has never had a local edition.

Among the countries it is considering a reentry include Italy and Australia and the company is discussing joint ventures with local publishers in those countries.