"It is true that the film will not be released in China, according to a letter we received from China Film," Li Chow, general manager for Sony's Columbia Tristar Pictures in Beijing, told AFP in an email.

"It said that China Film Group Corporation, and other distributors, decided to delay indefinitely the release of 'Memoirs of a Geisha' in China mainly because of the negative social response to the film reflected on various media."

"Memoirs of a Geisha," based on Arthur Golden's best-selling 1997 novel, tells the story of a girl from a poor Japanese fishing village who is sold to a geisha house and goes on to romance a rich businessman.

The film had been set for its mainland China debut on February 9 after winning initial approval from the State Administration of Radio and Film and Television (SARFT) and its domestic importer and distributor, the China Film Group, but was scrapped this week amid fears it could spark public resentment.

According to a report last month in the weekly newspaper, the Shanghai Star, SARFT received letters protesting the movie's release in China.

The picture, directed by Rob Marshall and co-produced by Steven Spielberg, came under fire in the Chinese media because the main geisha character, Sayuri, and her rival, Hatsumomo, are played by popular Chinese actresses Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li.

Many in China see the Japanese courtesans as prostitutes, and government officials were therefore worried that the two actresses' potrayals could evoke memories of Japan's wartime aggression towards mainland women.

Officials were not immediately available for comment, but Mao Yu, director of the Propaganda and Publishing Section of the Film Bureau, told AFP last month that the picture had indeed raised "sensitive and "very complex" issues.

Various local reports cited web postings that saw Zhang coming under criticism for her role, although none of these could be independently confirmed. Public comments viewed by authorities as sensitive are often pulled down.

Zhang, nominated for a Golden Globe as best actress in the film, has also starred in Ang Lee's martial arts epic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and Zhang Yimou's "Hero."

Veteran Gong is one of China's most successful actresses with notable performances in "Raise the Red Lantern", "Farewell My Concubine" and "Shanghai Triad."

And Malaysian-Chinese actress Michelle Yeoh, a former Bond girl, plays another key role as a geisha and tutor of Sayuri.

The ban follows reports that the gay cowboy drama "Brokeback Mountain" has also been rejected by Chinese censors.

It also comes at a time of tense Sino-Japanese relations, mainly as a result of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, where Japanese war criminals are buried.

China and many of its citizens believe that Japan has not properly atoned for its wartime past, while its textbooks whitewash the Imperial army's atrocities committed during its occupation of the mainland in the 1930s and 40s.

Even though Japan is a major investor in China, infuriated Chinese students took to the streets in several mainland cities last March and April, vandalising Japanese diplomatic missions, restaurants and name-brand cars.

The film, but also the novel on which it is based, have come under fire in Japan too, where many people resent equating high-end geishas - who practice a centuries-old tradition of entertaining men - with prostitutes.

Although the movie will not show on the big screen in China, pirated DVD copies are already widely available.

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