See what Hef sees - Playboy gets 3D centrefold

CHICAGO - Playboy readers who can only imagine what it would look like if a nude centrefold jumped right off the page are getting new specs to help them see into Hef's world.

The magazine's June edition hits newsstands in the US this week, equipped with 3D glasses. Now the toy that has kids dodging dragons, meatballs and tall blue aliens at the movies will help adults focus on what is, at first glance, a very blurry Playmate of the Year.

"What would people most like to see in 3D?" asked Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. "Probably a naked lady."

Hefner makes no secret of hoping to capitalise on the popularity of 3D movies such as Avatar and How to Train Your Dragon, even as he makes no secret of not quite getting what all the fuss is about.

"I'm not a huge enthusiast of 3D," he said in a telephone interview. "I leave real life to go to the movies and 2D is fine with me."

If the thought of grown men sitting back in their recliners with a pair of 3D glasses doesn't quite say Playboy, it should be noted that a few months ago the magazine put Marge Simpson - yes, the blue-haired animated mother of Bart - on the cover and in a two-page centrefold.

"In today's print environment you have to create newsstand events," said the editorial director of the Chicago-based magazine, Jimmy Jellinek. "Marge Simpson was one of those."

Playboy certainly must do something to get more people, especially younger people, to buy a magazine that has seen circulation plummet from 3.15 million in 2006 to 1.5 million today. So it's trying new things.

Jellinek said he hopes the issue featuring centrefold Hope Dworaczyk in 3D also reminds people that for all the infatuation with the internet, there is nothing quite like having a magazine in your hands.

"People want things that last and have meaning," he said.

The thought hadn't occurred to Hefner. But, now that you mention it:

"This particular picture is one example of how books and magazines are different (than computer images)," he said. "You can hold it in your hands, save them, and as Dad used to, put them under the mattress."

- AP