Xiao Yun, 19, defended herself by saying many on the mainland were doing the same thing. 'Lots of girls are doing this. There are many photos like mine. There are lots of beautiful women on the internet.'

Instead of using the internet to push for intellectual freedom or democratic ideals, some are merely seeking the freedom to post nude photos of themselves, changing China in their own little way. 'It's for my own entertainment. I like to take sexy photos because there are many different kinds,' Xiao Yun said.

A look at any Chinese internet portal verifies that she is not alone. Several years ago, a fad of young women posing for revealing photos at commercial studios swept the nation's major cities. The internet has made personal vanity easier, cheaper, and much more public.

The pioneering 'Sister Lotus' earned fame and derision on the internet in 2005 with her exaggerated poses, thick body - and thicker skin. She has been replaced by a new generation, with names like 'February Girl' and 'Nude F.B.I.', who have found fame by showing more flesh.

The government bans any internet content it considers to be pornographic. But so-called 'body art' falls into a grey area, since it presents itself as culture.

Three decades ago, men and women on the mainland wore the same baggy clothes. But the country's sexual revolution has made overt shows of sexuality more acceptable, said James Farrer, a professor at Japan's Sophia University.

'It's almost like flirtation. For these women, it's about showing part of yourself, but hiding yourself,' he said. The internet offers anonymity, and most use pseudonyms.

But Xiao Yun's quest for fame might have backfired. When she posted photos of herself wearing white lingerie and lounging at home in the nude, China was in a period of national mourning. The government would later shut down a magazine for a photo spread of models in bikinis posing amid what appeared to be quake rubble.

One critic wrote: 'I seriously wonder why these girls, born after 1990, have no sense of shame or self-respect at all. Besides appearing nude and taking photos of themselves, what else can they do?'

Other critics called it a fraud to get money or a conspiracy to make her famous. Some attacked her not for the racy photos, but over the truthfulness of claims that she was from Sichuan, since she said posting the images would help her home province. She has become a focal point for criticism of the mainland's youth - the '90s generation, which is wrestling with its own identity and receiving greater attention from academics and the media. Stereotypes portray members of the new generation as self-centred and pampered.

Others have offered support. 'It's a sign of confidence for a woman to show her body. It has nothing to do with obscenity. I hope people can support her and appreciate her in terms of aesthetics, not sexuality,' one person wrote on an internet forum.

After the storm of publicity, Xiao Yun has gone into hiding in Beijing, where she has lived for two years. She is taking a break as she contemplates how to turn her new-found fame into a career as a model or singer. 'I want to be popular. I want to be a star,' she said in a face-to-face interview.

Dressed casually in blue jeans and adorned with jewellery, she laughed frequently as she told her story.

She is from Sichuan but grew up outside the province. She considers herself to be a poster girl for the '90s generation, but was actually born just a few months shy of that decade. She won't reveal her real name for publication, but 'Xiao Yun' is a play on one of the characters. She previously worked as a waitress, but is currently unemployed and teaching herself accounting. She calls herself a 'homebody' and says she is living off an allowance from her parents and boyfriend.

Her parents still don't know she posted the photos, though her internet-savvy friends and relatives quickly discovered them. 'I didn't dare tell them. I was scared, because China is such a traditional country,' she said.

After the photos appeared, offers began to pour in: pose for a lingerie advertisement, play a flight attendant on a TV show, or even become a mistress. She rejected them all, saying she feared the 'casting couch' of the mainland entertainment world.

If Xiao Yun is unsure about her future, Selina Sun, who goes by the name 'Nude F.B.I.', knows exactly how she wants to proceed to further her modelling career.

Ms Sun, 28, became known after posting on her weblog a series of nude photos, which won her more than 10,000 friends on the Chinese version of MySpace.

Media accounts describing her as a white-collar worker from Shanghai fed the public frenzy about an office lady who bared all.

'I became popular in an instant. It was an accident. It's a commercial opportunity and I must seize it,' she said.

When she posted the photos, she was running her own foreign trade business after sales jobs in several other industries. The photos were meant to be part of her portfolio to win modelling work on the side.

She had already done some small jobs modelling for advertisements a few years ago, but now expects to grace the pages of the Chinese edition of Maxim this year and is negotiating to publish a 'photo book' in Japan. She has rejected offers to appear in adult films.

She defended her right to take and post such photos. 'Taking sexy portraits is a memento of youth. The photos I take emphasise that the body can stretch or show strength. There's no relationship to pornography,' she said.

Like Xiao Yun, Ms Sun has ventured into politics, posting photos of herself in Tibetan costume holding a Chinese flag in support of Beijing's claims over the region.

MySpace China said her photos met its standards for decency.

'We have a regulation, which is we don't like pornographic photos to be posted. Her photos don't show the sensitive parts, but are very sexy,' said Julia Zhu, public relations manager for MySpace China. 'She has her own ideas - the artistry of her photos, her skill. She is someone who really likes to take photos.'

Ms Sun is somewhat critical of the nature of fame in China. 'Chinese people feel becoming famous is good, no matter how you become famous,' she said. 'In China, it's blind worship. It's not rational.'