A Taiwanese electronics firm has apologised for using images of the September 11 terrorist attacks to sell MP3 music players that have provoked anger from Americans living in Hong Kong.
Taiwanese firm BenQ, a manufacturer of computer monitors and mobile phones, launched a website late last month to promote its MusiQ line of MP3 music players - which are sold on the mainland but not in Hong Kong.
It featured an image of popular Taiwanese rock band Mayday's lead vocalist Ashin Chen Hsin Hung superimposed over the burning ruins of the World Trade Centre in New York after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
In the advertisement, he is standing, listening to music, oblivious to the destruction around him.
Next to him are the English words: 'I belive [sic], music brings hope'. A translated Chinese-language version of the advertisement reads: 'Even if the world burns, I would still believe in music.'
An official for BenQ in Taiwan said Mayday was endorsing the music players and the advertising was designed by the band in conjunction with the company's mainland subsidiary. The group was hoping to convey an anti-war message, she said.
'We have told our subsidiaries in foreign countries to exercise more sensitivity in the future,' she said.