Considering the amount of free publicity The Da Vinci Code is receiving from avaricious litigants and various off-shoots of the Catholic Church, it's a wonder that Sony Films is bothering to spend any money putting up posters. The latest outbreak of whingeing comes from Opus Dei, the Catholic organisation accused of all manner of enormities in Dan Brown's idiotic source novel. An open letter on Opus Dei's website has urged Sony to attach a disclaimer to the film identifying it as a work of fiction.

"An eventual decision of Sony in this direction would be a sign of respect towards the figure of Jesus Christ, the history of the church, and the religious beliefs of viewers," the missive said. Ron Howard's film, starring Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen and Paul Bettany, opens on May 19th.