Malaysian authorities are investigating a fake Playboy edition on sale in the conservative north that has disappointed buyers with its clean-cut content, a report said Friday.

The phoney Malaysian edition is riding on the controversy created by Indonesia's launch of the raunchy magazine, which was forced to shut down last month in the wake of violent protests by Muslim hardliners.

The headline on the Malaysian version screams "Contains no nudity but is erotic", but within its 24 pages there are no erotic stories or photographs of scantily-clad women, the New Straits Times said.

Fake permit code

Officials in Kelantan state where the magazine has been found said the edition carried a fake permit code and that the publishers faced up to three years in jail and a stiff fine for producing it without authorisation.

Kelantan is the only Malaysian state to be ruled by the hardline Islamic opposition party PAS.

Senior state official Nik Kamarul Ariffin Mohamad Kamal said authorities were tracking down the publisher, who could also face moral charges.

He said that although the magazine's contents were not pornographic, its title was linked with sex and eroticism.