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Italian actress Sophia Loren, still sizzling at 72, is the star of the 2007 edition of the famously racy Pirelli calendar, which was unveiled in London Thursday.
Pictured on a white bed, the Oscar-winner shares the 26-picture, black-and-white calendar with four other actresses: Spain's Penelope Cruz, America's Hilary Swank, France's Lou Doillon and the British-Australian Naomi Watts.
The five are pictured in erotic photographs shot in a simple style, marking a turning point from the glamour that characterised past editions of the iconic calendar first published in 1964.
Loren said she was thrilled by the experience, adding she had "absolutely no problem" posing semi-nude for Dutch photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.
"I didn't think they would ask me such a thing," she said of the semi-nude California shoot.
"I started to laugh a lot, I found it ridiculous, I was a little bit afraid, I asked a lot of questions, then thought, what the hell, I am going to do it anyway.
"When you start to feel good, you give it everything you've got."
Wearing a grey shirt and a black and white shawl, the fun-loving redhead put her stunning looks down to her mother's genes and said she had no intention of having plastic surgery before the age of 100.
Loren, the star of more than 100 films, said she was in talks on two new projects in Italy which should come to fruition within three months.
The Pirelli calendar is never sold but is distributed each year by the tyre firm to some 40,000 VIPs, top customers, politicians and other personalities.
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AFPEntertainment-Italy-film-people-Loren-Pirelli
AFP 162028 GMT 11 06
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