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Playboy to publish 3-D centerfold

By Samuel Axon, Mashable
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Playboy in 3-D
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • The 3-D centerfold will appear in the June issue, which hits newsstands Friday
  • HBO is promoting "True Blood" by sponsoring the 3-D glasses included in each issue
  • The subject of the photos is 51st Playmate of the Year Hope Dworaczyk
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(Mashable) -- "What would people most like to see in 3-D? Probably a naked lady."

Those are the words of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, whose magazine will soon include a centerfold playmate photographed naked and in 3-D.

The 3-D centerfold will appear in the June issue, which hits newsstands this Friday. The subject of the photos is 51st Playmate of the Year Hope Dworaczyk.

Consider this a grab for attention more than anything; Playboy editorial director Jimmy Jellinek was quoted byMSNBC saying, "In today's print environment you have to create newsstand events." The environment he's talking about is one in which Playboy circulation has dropped almost 60 percent in just four years.

Though the magazine's gimmick is obviously inspired by the increasing popularity of 3-D films like "Avatar," Hefner said that the appeal of 3-D movies is lost on him personally. That might not be true of his readers, though.

Hefner actually commissioned a Chicago photographer to take 3-D photos of naked women back in the 50s, but he decided against running the images when he realized how expensive it would be to include 3-D glasses with each copy of the magazine, MSNBC claims.

This time, HBO is promoting its sexy Southern vampire TV show "True Blood" by sponsoring the glasses.

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