HANOI - SHOP mannequins displaying underwear will have to take cover under a regulation passed by authorities in Vietnam's commercial capital.

The models must no longer be visible from shop fronts under the rule controlling various forms of advertising in southern Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, the Phap Luat Ho Chi Minh City newspaper said on its website.

'Putting the mannequin somewhere that people in the streets cannot see it is OK,' the report quoted local official Le Quang Vinh as saying.

'No one wears underwear in public places, and it runs counter to Vietnamese traditional custom.'

Underwear mannequins are widespread at shops in Ho Chi Minh City and elsewhere in Vietnam. -- AFP