It may have one of the most vibrant media environments in Asia - with journalists having freedom to write just about anything - yet the Philippines ranks after Iraq as one of the deadliest places for reporters.

Eight journalists have been killed in that South-east Asian archipelago this year, one more than the seven who were murdered in 2003.

In Iraq, on the other hand, 18 journalists have been killed while on duty this year.

This disturbing reality is one of the revelations made this week by the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) or Reporters without Borders, in a report that has condemned Asian countries for having one of the most hostile environments for journalists in the world.

Other Asian countries where journalists were killed in 2004 included Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the media watchdog noted in its third-annual ''Worldwide Press Freedom Index.''