Yo! Singapore censor rap hits YouTube

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's Media Development Authority, which regulates and censors media and the arts, has scored an unexpected hit on YouTube with a rap video about the city-state's media ambitions.

The YouTube posting has received more than 11,000 hits -- and a string of snide postings on the video site (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjLw28UVWEU&feature=related). The government body aims to promote the growth of the media industry, to promote "core values" and safeguard consumer interests, its Web site says. It hopes the rap video will showcase its potential to be "a vibrant media city".

But critics say this ambition does not rhyme with Singapore's regular censorship of films and theatre and the many defamation lawsuits its government have launched against foreign media.

In the video, middle-aged executives are seen moving and shaking to a rap tune, mouthing lines from a corporate brochure.

"William Hung is more entertaining," said one of the YouTube postings, referring to the goofy singer made famous in American Idol.

(Reporting by Geert De Clercq)