WWW- Three years ago, Christian morality groups were enraged over Abercrombie & Fitch’s “Christmas Field Guide.” Part catalog, part magazine and all sexual innuendo, its message so concerned the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families that the group organized a boycott and forced the magalog off retail shelves.

It appeared to be the end of the dirty catalog craze. Abercrombie & Fitch soon studiously fell in line with the whims of the censors.

It was not the end. Others clothing lines apparently missed the memo, and some have gone far edgier, pushing into that last frontier of attention-getting, pornography, to sell their clothes, aided by the exponentially expanding internet and its far more accepting audience.

Enter Shai, a five year-old Paris-based company whose new online campaign marks the first use of hardcore to sell clothing.

Shai’s summer 2006 campaign demonstrates the role of clothing in desire, “key to highlighting the seductive dimension of the line,” a company press release reveals. But Shai in fact does more than highlight; in three pornographic catalog videos, Shai’s sexuality is impossible to miss.

Visitors to the Shai site are given the option of viewing a cleaned-up catalog, for those under 18. But a click on the other option takes the visitor to a choice of three interactive videos, downloadable for viewing in Quicktime, iPod, PSP or mobile format.

Visitors can select from catalogs entitled “Women ++ Women,” “Women ++ Men” and “Men ++ Men,” all of which feature attractive porn stars in various states of undress doing what they do best.

By moving the cursor over the small green dots that hover around the clothing, customers can explore the product without destroying the flow. The videos are brightly lit, the actors’ faces are as clean and clear as the white sheets on which they perform.

Most striking about such an X-rated campaign is the straight-forward, nearly neutral manner in which it is presented. The site’s color scheme is a simple green and white, and for the wallpapers available in the “Goodies” section, the pornographic images are rendered in pastel, the solid colors reduced to lines. There is no place to order the products, which are sold only in stores. Visitors are invited to “Tell a Friend” or speak their mind in a forum. They can also download screensavers, MP3s and a “Making Of” video.

Yet for all the sex on Shai, the site is not arousing. The message appears to be that it’s really nothing to get especially upset about. Sexuality is a part of life at Shai, and is thus part of its sweatshirts as well.

Similarly, Shai clothing is all but devoid of sexual messages, mostly whites or pastel t-shirts, sweaters and flirty skirts and downright virginal compared Abercrombie & Fitch clothing. But then, who would notice such a thing?