Christians force Wal-mart to ban British 'lad mags'

Three British "lad" magazines have been banned by Wal-mart, America's biggest discount superstore chain, because of their racy content.

Pressured by Christian groups, Wal-mart, which sold goods worth $244bn (£151bn) last year, confirmed that it is suspending sales of Maxim and Stuff, both owned by Dennis Publishing, and FHM, which is published by Emap. The three titles have been at the forefront of the success of so-called "lad" magazines.

The decision, which casts Wal-mart as a national arbiter of moral tastes in America, has not been welcomed by the industry. The Magazine Publishers of America, an industry trade group, said it believes "that, in this free society, consumers should have the freedom to decide for themselves what they want to purchase."

Dennis Publishing denounced the move yesterday. "It is a shame that thousands of people will not be able to make up their own minds what magazine they can read for themselves.

"We hope that Wal-mart and Dennis Publishing can resolve this issue very shortly, so they don't have to bend to the will of a few as opposed to the majority."

In rural areas of America, Wal-mart is often the only the source of products, ranging from groceries to video games. It sells guns and a number of weapons-related magazines, plus more than 12,000 books and magazines on Christian topics.

A Wal-mart spokeswoman said the chain was responding to consumer feelings. "I know we've heard on at least one of those magazines, they weren't pleased with the offering," she said. "We just try to make good decisions that are going to appeal to the majority of our customers."