This weekend saw Wellington's streets fill up with around 60,000 children and their parents, who turned up to enjoy the annual Santa Parade amid perfect, sunny weather.

Wellington, March 21 : Contrary to the popular belief that girls are passively soaking up sexualised messages in the media in a way that distorts their views on sexuality, a new study has shown that ‘tweenage’ girls (those aged 11 to 13) are making informed decisions about sexualised popular culture.

Using Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus'' decision to appear bare-shouldered and wrapped in a bed sheet on the cover of Vanity Fair in April 2008 as an example, lecturers at Canterbury and Victoria Universities found that rather than wanting to be like the star, the ‘tween’ girls found the magazine cover ‘yuk’, ‘gross’ and ‘uncool’.

Wellington, March 21 : If a new survey is to be believed, then New Zealanders almost never look for pornography on the web.

The survey partly conducted by AUT University showed that fewer than 5 per cent of Kiwis admit using the Internet for pornography daily.

In the study of 1250 people in 30 countries, more than 80 per cent said they never looked for sexual content on the web, reports New Zealand Herald News.

Allan Bell, AUT professor, said that the result should be taken with a grain of salt and Netsafe executive director Martin Cocker agreed that people ‘massively under-report’ pornography use. (ANI)

Wellington, March 21 : Auckland''s much-hyped Playboy concept store has been shut down after less than three years.

The boutique was launched by Australian designer Christopher Chronis, under licence from Playboy Enterprises.

The store at the Sylvia Park was just the eighth Playboy Concept Boutique in the world.

It opened amid much fanfare in April 2007 selling Playboy-labelled lingerie, evening wear and other accessories, reports Stuff. co. nz.

However, the store has now been closed and the company, PBY New Zealand, is in voluntary liquidation.

According to the first report by liquidator McDonald Vague, there are debts of more than 166,000 dollars.

Wellington, Feb 7 : Ineed. co. nz, the website that earned worldwide notoriety after allowing a 19-year-old Northland girl to auction her virginity, gained around 1.5 million dollars in free publicity from the scandal, an advertising industry expert says.

The girl called ‘Unigirl’ apparently sold her virginity for 45,000 dollars to pay her university fees.

"The New Zealand exposure for the site is worth over 100,000 dollars,” the New Zealand Herald quoted Nigel Keats, managing director of advertising agency ODM, as saying.

"Certainly there are a lot of people who hadn''t heard of ineed. co. nz a fortnight ago who have now.

Wellington, Jan 19 - Television New Zealand was under fire from critics for being insensitive by showing a film about the late Princess Diana while her son, Prince William, was still in country.

But TV officials defended the broadcast of the film, The Queen, saying they did not check the royals' visit schedule before planning their programmes.

Britain's William left New Zealand Tuesday after a three-day visit, his first solo official overseas tour representing his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II.

In this wake there was controversy about the national television channel's decision to screen the film exploring the death of his mother, Princess Diana, while he was there.

Wellington, Dec 28 - More than 120 pilot whales died in mass strandings at two New Zealand beaches, it was reported Monday.

A pod of 105 died after beaching themselves at the eastern tip of remote Farewell Spit, at the top of the South Island, Saturday, the Southland Times newspaper reported, quoting a Department of Conservation (DOC) official.

Twenty-one other pilot whales died and 42 were successfully refloated after stranding at Colville Bay, on the North Island's Coromandel Peninsula, Sunday.

Wellington, Dec 23 : Unable to cope with injuries, New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond Wednesday announced his retirement from Test cricket.

Bond returned to international cricket in the Test series against Pakistan after ending his stint with Indian Cricket League (ICL), but could only play the first Test in which he took eight wickets. An abdominal muscle tear ruled him out of the remaining two Tests.

Bond, who has been plagued with injuries throughout his career, said his body could no longer take the rigours of the five-day game.

Wellington, Dec 23 : Cops warned two nude Kiwi men after they were found cycling without a helmet.

The duo was riding near the Coromandel seaside resort of Whangamata.

Senior Constable Cathy Duder was on duty around at the resort when she ran into the two men, both in their early 20s.

"They were more shocked than I was, trying to cover up their bits and pieces with their hands," Stuff. co. nz quoted Duder, as telling AAP.

The men said they were cycling naked because "they wanted to experience total freedom".

Wellington, December 21 : Children who learn to read at age seven may be as good as children who learn to read at five, an expert claims.

Sebastian Suggate did the study for his doctorate in psychology at Otago University.

He conducted one international and two New Zealand studies, as part of the programme.

Wellington, Dec 19 : The Auckland Anglican church involved in the controversial ad showing Jesus'' parents, Joseph and Mary in bed after sex, has decided to take the billboard down after it was attacked for a third time.

St Matthew-in-the-City vicar Archdeacon Glynn Cardy said he was worried that people could be injured if there were any further attacks on the picture, the last involving an elderly woman slashing it with a knife.

Wellington, Dec 18 : Kids as young as seven are searching for sex online, reveal a new Kiwi study.

A list of popular search terms used by teens and children released by anti-virus firm Symantec shows that searches for "porn" and "sex" have become quite common.

Although kids show a lot of interest in YouTube, Facebook and Google, the search for adult material is also high, reports Stuff. co. nz

Wellington, Dec 17 - Stealing a roll of salami led to the arrest of a New Zealand man eight years after he raped and killed a 23-year-old woman, a newspaper reported Thursday.

Joseph Martin Reekers, 52, pleaded guilty in the Auckland High Court Wednesday to murdering hairdresser Marie Jamieson, whose naked body was found nine days after she disappeared in February 2001.

Reekers was arrested in April last year after being caught stealing salami worth 8.20 New Zealand dollars ($6) from a suburban supermarket.

Wellington, Dec 17 - A billboard outside an Anglican church depicting Joseph and the Virgin Mary in bed, with the words "Poor Joseph, God was a hard act to follow", has upset Catholics in New Zealand, according to news reports Thursday.

"The suggestion is that the two have just had sex," the New Zealand Herald reported, quoting the vicar of Auckland's St Matthew's-in-the-City church, Archdeacon Glynn Cardy, as saying it was designed "to provoke thought and conversation about the true origins of Christmas".

Wellington, Dec 16 - More than 80 percent of Fiji was without electricity and nearly 4,000 people remained in evacuation centres Wednesday in the wake of Cyclone Mick, according to reports from the capital Suva.

The island state began assessing the damage after the first cyclone of the season brought winds gusting to 150 km an hour and torrential rains to much of the country Monday and Tuesday.

The cyclone may be responsible for five deaths, with two people reportedly washed away by floodwaters, two fishermen missing after going out in a boat despite weather warnings and an 18-year-old youth killed by a falling tree.

Wellington, Dec 15 - A South African-born immigrant to New Zealand was jailed for life Tuesday for the murder of his 11-week-old baby girl who was starved and beaten to death, news reports said.

Azees Mahomed, 31, who was found guilty at the Auckland High Court last month, must serve at least 17 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.

His wife, Tabbusum Mahomed, 31, was given four years in prison for failing to provide the necessaries of life to the baby, Tahani. She is to be deported to South Africa when released.

Wellington, Dec 15 - Four people were feared dead and up to 2,000 evacuated from their damaged homes after the first Pacific cyclone of the Southern Hemisphere summer lashed Fiji, according to reports from the capital Suva on Tuesday.

The dead included two people swept away in flood waters and a boy killed by a falling tree, Radio New Zealand reported.

Winds gusting to 150 km an hour and torrential rains swept across Fiji's main island of Viti Levu on Monday and overnight, bringing down power lines and blocking highways.

Wellington, Dec 10: New Zealand off-spinner Jeetan Patel’s inclusion in the squad for the third Test against Pakistan looks doubtful as a healthy covering of grass evident on the McLean Park wicket will push both sides to maintain a seam-based attack.

New Zealand pace bowler Daryl Tuffey was enthused by what he heard about a wicket block that is to be used for the first time this season.

“We''ve heard there''s going to be a little bit more moisture and greenness, so hopefully that brings the seamers into play a little bit more,” NZPA quoted Tuffey, as saying.

A green pitch could mean that Patel and Pakistan''s off-spinner Saeed Ajmal should be braced for 12th man duties.

Wellington, Dec 10 : World Cup outsiders New Zealand have turned down an all-expenses-paid invitation to go to China in March because the Chinese do not play the style of game they will meet in South Africa.

"From the opposition we have drawn, playing a game against China doesn't make any sense," New Zealand Football chief executive Michael Glading told Wellington's Dominion Post.

Wellington, Dec 4: The Pakistan team is eyeing a series-levelling victory against New Zealand after establishing a 229-run lead at stumps on day two of the second Test at Basin Reserve in Wellington.

Resuming the day on 161-6, the tourists managed to finish at 264, after wicket keeper Kamran Akmal (70) and fast bowler Umar Gul added 64 runs for the eighth wicket.

New Zealand did not start their reply well, as fast bowler Mohammad Aamer got the wicket of Martin Guptill for a first-ball duck, while paceman Mohammad Asif dismissed Tim McIntosh for four to leave the home side reeling on 5-2.