Cubans line up to gawk at, or buy, DVDs and motorbikes

HAVANA: Shoppers snapped up DVD players, motorbikes and pressure cookers for the first time on Tuesday as Cuba loosened its control on consumer goods and invited private farmers to plant tobacco, coffee and other crops on unused state land.

Combined with other reforms announced in recent days, the measures suggest changes are being driven by new President Raul Castro, who vowed when he took over from his brother Fidel to remove some of the limitations on the daily lives of Cubans.

Many of the shoppers filling stores on Tuesday said the goods are unaffordable on their salaries. But that didn't stop them from lining up to see electronic gadgets previously available only to foreigners and companies.