"Couple tries to name baby 'at' symbol". @: something Prince would like!

[demoleft]

'BEIJING (AP) -- A Chinese couple seeking a distinctive and modern name for their child chose the commonly used Internet 'at' symbol, much to the consternation of Chinese officials.

The unidentified couple and the attempted naming were cited Thursday by a Chinese government official as an example of bizarre names creeping into the Chinese language.

The father "said 'the whole world uses it to write e-mails and translated into Chinese it means 'love him,'"' Li Yuming, the vice director of the State Language Commission, said at a news conference.

The symbol pronounced in English as 'at' sounds like the Chinese phrase "love him."'

AP, http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CHINA_NAME_BLAME?SITE=TNMEM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[DS1]

1. of course @@whatever.cn

would be deemed invalid by just about every mail system in the world