Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia is a Southeast Asian country consisting of approximately 17,600 islands stretching between the South Pacific and Indian Oceans, and is the world's largest archipelagic nation.

The capital is Jakarta. The language is Indonesian (very similar to Malay). The population is about 238 million as of 2004. The main state religion is Islam (Bali has Balinese Hinduism), and it boasts the world's largest Muslim population.

The head of state is Yudhoyono (the 6th President).

The country was one of the hardest hit by the 2004 Sumatra earthquake.

• Indonesia's anti-pornography law

On October 30, 2008, a bill banning all pornographic acts, including possession of obscene images, was passed with a majority vote from Islamic political parties. All media, including public nudity, child pornography, photographs, paintings, anime, manga, movies, videos, poetry, writing, conversations, and physical movements, will be subject to regulation. The maximum penalty is 15 years in prison or a fine of 7.5 billion rupiah (approximately 70 million yen). Simply downloading obscene images can result in a maximum prison sentence of four years.

In Indonesia, where Muslims make up about 90% of the population, protests have been frequent in Bali, where Hindus are the majority, and in some provinces where Christians are the majority. There were concerns about traditional Balinese dance, which exposes a lot of skin, but traditional performing arts were excluded.