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Long-time member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Anderson was meant to appear nude from the hips up covered only by her arms next to the tagline "Give Fur the Cold Shoulder".

"But thanks to the Shanghai authorities, the people of China wont get to see as much of the unclothed beauty as PETA and Anderson would have liked," it said.

"Government censors drastically cropped the racy photo, forcing cheated viewers to rely on their imaginations."

In Beijing censors have been even more disapproving, said Allison Ezell, a PETA campaign manager.

"The latest revision has not yet been approved and the picture basically just shows her head," Ezell said.

Anderson was furious.

"The authorities have it backwards," she said.

"After watching newly released video footage of animals on Chinese fur farms screaming and writhing in agony as their necks are broken, I think that fur farms should be censored, not the people exposing the horrific cruelty."

The campaign in China is part of PETA's newest efforts to derail fur merchants trying to win a slice of the action in the fast growing economy with its burgeoning middle-class.

The group says China has seen a rise in fur sales domestically and has also become the leading exporter of fur garments to the United States.