Burton bringing Playboy centerfolds back to snowboards

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - Burton is bringing back images of Playboy bunnies on its snowboards, seven years after similar depictions sparked a protest outside its headquarters.

The snowboard company announced last week that it's launching a snowboard collection "featuring vintage Playboy centerfolds" and artwork by tattoo artist Chris Nunez.

Jake Burton says his company supports freedom of artistic expression.

The move comes about a month after Playboy announced it would stop running nude photos in its U.S. print edition. The Burlington Free Press reports (http://bfpne.ws/1OgH22k ) the new boards feature images of scantily-clad women with art covering parts of their bodies.

In 2008, about 150 people demonstrated outside Burton's Burlington headquarters over a snowboard collection with images of Playboy models and another with cartoons of self-mutilation. Some ski resorts also banned employees from using them on the slopes.