NANJING: A cup of Haagen-Dazs strawberry or chocolate milkshake isn't enticing only to dessert lovers, say some residents in Nanjing who see something erotic in the ads for the hot-summer treat.

In August, the huge advertisements for the milkshake were posted on two Haagen-Dazs shops in Xinjiekou, the city's central business district in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province. Some residents described the ads as being indecent.

With two chocolate or strawberry ice cream balls floating on the cup, the milk shake is considered by some as resembling the male reproductive organs.

The huge milk shake advertisements are posted on the windows of the Eastern Mansion and Jinling Haagen-Dazs shops.

A woman surnamed Ding, who works in Xinjiekou, was quoted as saying by Nanjing Morning Post that the ad "disgusts her" as she passes by the shop several times every day.

"I don't know what others may think. But I can't help feeling offended by such pictures," said Ding.

But not everyone can see the vulgarity behind the ad.

In a small survey conducted by the local newspaper, 14 out of 20 people surveyed said they consider the pictures "beautiful" or at least not offensive. The remaining six respondents agree with Miss Ding in considering the advertisement offensive.

The public's opinion is just as divided as those surveyed."The pictures are so lovely and sometimes it attracts me to enjoy the milk shake when I pass by it," said Zuo Lingli, an employee with the Eastern Mansion Market, which is in the same building of the Eastern Mansion Haagen-Dazs shop.

But a young couple who refused to be identified said, "It is obviously erotic. And we see it as humiliating to post such a misleading advertisement in such a crowded place."

But some people didn't have a problem with it, even if it may be a little erotic.

"When sex and the milk shake are mixed together, isn't it better?" said Chen Wei,a 26-year-old photographer.

Others said they have hardly given the ad a second thought. A shop manager surnamed Wang said she doesn't see it as inappropriate.

"The advertisement has been posted on the windows for more than a month, and I never heard anyone complaining of its other implications. Actually it brings good business - the milkshake advertised is actually one of our most popular products," said Wang.

According to China's Advertisement Law, ads whose contents break the acceptable social standards or contain obscenity should be banned.

The window advertisements, though made by the shops themselves and posted without censorship by related bureaus, should also be regulated by the Advertisement Law, according to staff with Nanjing's Commercial and Industrial Bureau.

The bureau will investigate the case to see whether it really infringes the country's advertisement law, according to a bureau employee surnamed Xu.