Details from Bo Xilai trial spawn jokes on the internet

As state media coverage of Bo Xilai's trial winds down, weibo commentators have seized on some of the case's salacious details to spin a humorous take on the entire affair.

Bo's description of the alleged romance between his former top aide, Wang Lijun , and his wife Gu Kailai - that they were as close as "paint and glue" - has become, not unexpectedly, a catchphrase of the trial.

Commentators targeted Xinhau after its editors decided to brag about their translation skills.

"Bo Xilai tells the court that Wang Lijun was infatuated with … [Gu] Kailai and they were stuck together like white on rice," one social media account operated by Xinhua English language news department wrote on Sina Weibo.

The Xinhua editors went on to explain that two groups of sub-editors - comprising Britons and Americans - scratched their heads and debated for hours in the Xinhua newsroom over what the best English words were to describe such an "inseparable" relationship.

In the end, the Americans prevailed and convinced their Chinese colleagues that the stickiness of egg white atop rice was the most apt simile. The choice intrigued many internet users. "Imagine that, an English language lesson from Xinhua News Agency," wrote one Weibo commentator.