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According to an internal memo from MTV Networks Europe's broadcast standards manager Mark Sunderland, videos by the B52s should not be played by the station, along with any other band whose name or song titles feature words associated with war.

The memo, leaked on , the sister site to , bans other more obvious examples such as Outkast's 'B.O.B -- Bombs Over Baghdad' and Megadeth's 'Holy Wars'.

The memo also recommends that videos featuring war footage or executions should not be shown. Among the list of 11 songs singled out include Aerosmith's 'Don't Want to Miss a Thing', Iggy Pop's 'Corruption' and System of a Down's 'Boom!' -- an anti-war video containing facts and figures about the projected casualties in the war in Iraq.

A spokeswoman for MTV Networks Europe confirmed the memo had been sent to staff. She said: "As a responsible broadcaster, we have to be sensitive to our listeners across Europe."

She added that the station was not banning anything, but "temporarily adjusting the schedules".

The spokeswoman defended MTV's music policy saying it had never banned any videos. "We were the only channel to play The Prodigy's 'Smack My Bitch Up' and 'Rabbit in the Headlights' by UNKLE," she said.

The Prodigy's 'Smack My Bitch Up' video contained scenes of nudity, drug-taking, violence and sex, while 'Rabbit in the Headlights' sung by Radiohead's Thom York, was banned by other broadcasters because it showed images of a man being knocked down by cars.

The BBC said it had no policy on what should be played on its radio stations or TV channels, but a spokeswoman said it left the decision down to the discretion of individual station editors.

A spokeswoman for alternative music station Xfm said that it had not changed any of the songs on its playlist but said that it would keep an eye on songs that could cause offence.

Protesting against war is a popular topic among conscientious bands. However, it does mean that if their anti-war messages don't have the desired effect and war does break out, then they will lose valuable airplay.

During the first Gulf War at the start of the 90s, Massive Attack had to change its name to Massive in order to ensure radio airplay.

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