~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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Vietnam knocks back grapefruit 'sex' site

HANOI - Vietnam's internet authorities rejected a website for a grapefruit wholesaler this week over fears web surfers might think it was a sex site, an official said. The attempt to register www.buoi.com.vn was turned down because without proper Vietnamese tone and vowel markings the word "buoi" (grapefruit) might be confused with "buoi" (penis), said Minh Ngoc, an officer at the Vietnam Internet Network Information Centre.

"It's very sensitive .. it could cause misunderstanding," Mr Ngoc said yesterday. The man who tried to register the apparently legitimate site, advertising a grapefruit wholesaler in central Ha Tinh province, was advised to look for a new name, she said. "In written Vietnamese, the two words are distinct, with the citrus fruit using a rising-falling tone, while the part of the male anatomy has different "u" and "o" and a falling tone." However, in the western alphabet most commonly used for Vietnamese websites, the two words are indistinguishable.

Deutsche Presse Agentur - February 9, 2006.