BRASILIA - BRAZIL'S version of Playboy magazine is seeking a circulation boost this Friday, when its latest edition comes out with featuring a photo of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Mr Lula - as the portly, bearded 63-year-old is widely known - appears fully clothed in a photograph reproduced alongside the magazine's nude centrefold, a Rio de Janeiro dancer and model who looks as if she is about to plant a kiss on the head of state's image.

'Nobody knew they were going to use a photo of the president in this shoot. It was a surprise. Absolutely they did not ask for permission,' a spokesman for Mr Lula told AFP.

He added that he did not know whether the president would take action against the publication.

Mr Lula is due to return to Brazil on Friday after a tour of Switzerland, Russia and Kazakhstan. -- AFP