A businessman who sold condoms in a shop in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang was shut down by government officials for selling the latex products without instructions and with images deemed offensive, including the image of former Communist leader Chairman Mao Zedong, a state newspaper said Tuesday. Having received numerous complaints about shop owner Zhang Zhiwen's condoms, which bear the likeness of several People's heroes, the industry and commerce administration raided the business and ordered the man to close down.

Indian censoring authorities want to ban daytime screening of a advertisement promoting 'XXX' strawberry, chocolate and banana flavored condoms. They perceive the catch line "what is your flavor of the night" as offensive. The Chairperson of the censor board of India, Sharmila Tagore expressed his thinking on the ads in strong words to the Times of India newspaper.

A Ukrainian firm has designed musical condom which plays music while in use. The prophylactic also boasts the ability to play music louder and faster as lovers reach a climax. Grigoriy Chausovsky, from Zaporozhye, Ukraine and the designer of the condom said his contraceptive is fitted with a special sensor that registers when the condom is put on during lovemaking.

In an effort to de-stigmatize condoms, one advocacy group is encouraging people to make their own art pins using the contraceptive. Executive director of The Condom Project, Franck DeRose, says his group started a program that aims to get people more comfortable with condoms, particularly those who live in countries where the items are taboo. He tells Reuters, "There's a great need to de-stigmatize condoms around the world, especially in Africa. "