Intimate scenes broadcast on talk show

VILNIUS - A pornographic recording broadcast during a popular talk show in Lithuania on Mar. 2 appears to have been a home movie stolen from a couple in Kaunas.

According to the daily Lietuvos Rytas, a 38-year-old resident of the country's second city plans to go to court after seeing intimate scenes with him and his girlfriend on the TV talk show "Arena", which described the video as a typical example of the vulgarity of Lithuanian pornographic movies. The Kaunas man's girlfriend had a hysterical fit after seeing herself naked on the popular show, which discussed whether Lithuanian porno movies were an acceptable business or a degradation of national self-respect.

Arunas Valinskas, the show's host, said the videotape had been purchased from a market stall for 20 litas ($5). The Kaunas man, who runs a private company, said the recording had been stolen from his apartment about 18 months ago.

After two unsuccessful requests made by the man during calls to the channel which runs the show, LNK, to stop the broadcast of the video, the couple's lawyer called the producers of the talk show and threatened them with legal action.

Valinskas had not received the special permission needed in Lithuania to use pornographic scenes on television. He claimed he had removed the most extreme parts in order to make the recording meet broadcasting standards.