China expressed anger today at America’s red carpet treatment of the Dalai Lama and warned that plans to honour him would seriously damage relations with Beijing.

Despite Chinese protests, President Bush was scheduled to meet Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader later today at the White House, the first sitting US president to do so.

Tomorrow, Mr Bush is to attend a ceremony on Capitol Hill where the Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel peace prize in 1989, will receive the congressional gold medal. Past recipients of America’s highest award for civilians have included Tony Blair, Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela.

The Dalai Lama’s special envoy, Lodi Gyari, said images of Mr Bush standing beside the spiritual leader at the congressional ceremony would send a clear message that “people do care about Tibet. We have not been forgotten.”

“I have no doubt this will give tremendous encouragement and hope to the Tibetan people,” he told reporters ahead of the visit. It also “sends a powerful message to China that the Dalai Lama is not going to go away”.

The Dalai Lama’s triumphant visit to the US, from packed audiences in New York to his welcome in Washington, has delighted Tibetan exiles but has infuriated Beijing.

“The move will seriously damage China-US relations,” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Liu Jianchao, said of tomorrow’s congressional award.

Mr Liu told a news conference that China hoped the US would “correct its mistakes and cancel relevant arrangements and stop interfering in the internal affairs of China by any means”.

Officials in Chinese-controlled Tibet used even stronger language.

“We are furious. If the Dalai Lama can receive such an award, there must be no justice or good people in the world,” Zhang Qingli, the communist part leader of Tibet, told reporters.

The Dalai Lama has lived in India since the failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. He remains popular among Tibetans and has a strong following in the west. But Beijing views him as a separatist and a traitor.

China this week pulled out of a meeting of world powers to discuss Iran in protest at the Dalsi Lama’s visit to the US visit. Beijing also cancelled its annual human rights meeting with Germany, angry at the Dalai Lama’s meeting with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel.

The Dalai Lama has not shied away from talking tough either. During a two-hour session at the Jacob Javits convention centre in New York, he said: “The Tibetan cause is a cause of justice, and that’s something that cannot fade away. That is the nature of truth - that it cannot die with time and with the change of generations.”

Beijing considers the Dalai Lama a political exile bent on establishing an independent Tibet, an accusation he has repeatedly denied. He claims he only wants greater autonomy and is waging a non-violent campaign for greater rights for his six million people.

China has been consistently criticised by human rights groups over Tibet. Amnesty International said this week that four Tibetan children aged 15 who have been detained since last month are at grave risk of torture and mistreatment on suspicion of writing pro-Tibetan independence slogans.

Can young Ashley find success and happiness in the big city? Will the dashing Eric win her heart? Can she make consumers buy more Tide detergent?

Stay tuned. Or logged on.

The company that brought soap operas to radio, then television, Procter Gamble, is trying the same strategy online with “Crescent Heights,” a new show intended to reach young viewers where they watch the most - their PCs and cellphones.

The series, which is more sitcom than soap opera, focuses on a recent college graduate, Ashley, who moves to Los Angeles from Wisconsin to start a career in public relations, and her emerging circle of friends and romantic interests. Written, directed and produced by Hollywood veterans, the three-minute episodes are as polished as any television sitcom.

While the Tide logo makes occasional appearances, clothes are front and center. In one episode, Ashley attends a party and is horrified that her bright yellow dress is the only color in a sea of black, but the dress helps get her noticed by Eric, who plays the early foil to Ashleys other suitor, Will.

“We want to speak to people about more than just laundry,” said Kevin Crociata, Tides associate marketing director. “We provide benefits to the fabrics she wears on a daily basis. They have much more meaning.”

The initiative follows that of other marketers and retailers who have found that, especially among their younger customers, sometimes the best way to advertise is to, well, not advertise.

“The product message is there, but its not as direct,” said Crociata. “If the content wasnt entertaining, we wouldnt be successful.”

“Crescent Heights,” which Tide is promoting on its television commercials, print ads and packaging, is too new to have affected sales.

“The reaction so far has been great,” Crociata said. “We feel like weve hit on something thats entertaining and, in our testing, has shown its influencing purchase intent.”

Crociata said that the series, which was taped in an initial set of 10 segments, will help Procter Gamble evaluate its broader strategy regarding online entertainment. At least one other Procter Gamble brand, Always feminine care products, is also developing a scripted online entertainment series.

Procter Gamble has a long history with such projects, having pioneered radio soap operas at the dawn of that medium, as well as televised dramas. “Guiding Light,” TVs longest running soap, began on radio 70 years ago, and was first televised in 1955. The “Light” in its title is a reference to candles, which, along with soap, made up Procter Gambles first product line in 1837.

Crociata said that Tides executives did not rely on Procter Gamble Productions, which still produces “Guiding Light,” to deliver “Crescent Heights.” Rather, it used GoTV Networks, a video production company based in Sherman Oaks, California, that has also developed technology to create the show in collaboration with PG and distribute shows online and on mobile phones.

Chris Greenleaf, GoTVs vice president for entertainment, declined to say how much Tide or any of the companys other clients pay to develop an online series. “Scripted series are more expensive than reality TV, and fewer characters is less expensive,” he said. The show contains only four main characters.

Despite the costs, Greenleaf said that marketers increasingly are developing original series to distribute online and over mobile phones. “Just from us personally, youll see a lot more of this in the next year,” he said. “Advertisers are aware that this is where a lot of the activity is, among their demographics.”

Not all marketers have scored successes with online series.

Executives at Anheuser-Busch recently said that the company would continue its BudTV.com initiative, which features dozens of original programs, despite disappointing viewership since its February introduction.

Procter Gambles chief competitor, Unilever, has fared better in developing multiple series, having created original online programs for its Degree deodorant, Dove soap and Caress skin products, among others. The companys most successful online entertainment asset, however, revolves around Spraychel, the animated mascot for Unilevers I Cant Believe Its Not Butter! brand (at TasteYouLove.com).

Spraychel currently anchors the companys third online series, “Sprays in the City,” in which she and other vegetables and toppings vie for romantic and gastronomic supremacy. Javier Martin, Unilevers brand manager for I Cant Believe Its Not Butter!, said that this years Spraychel series has been viewed more than one million times online, with visitors watching for more than six minutes. (Episodes last about three minutes.)

In surveys, Martin said, viewers were “significantly” more likely to purchase the product than they were before watching the shows.

Sir Ian McKellen would be “very pleased” to reprise the role of Gandalf the wizard in the long-awaited adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit, the actor has said.

US reports suggest the ongoing negotiations over the Lord of the Rings prequel may be close to being resolved. Firstly, it is understood that New Line, which backed the original trilogy, only part-owns the rights to The Hobbit, with rival studio MGM also maintaining an interest. And then there is Rings director Peter Jackson’s separate legal dispute with New Line, this time over profits from the franchise.

Sir Ian has therefore taken the opportunity to restate his claim on the wizard’s weatherbeaten hat, whether Jackson, who was at one point effectively blacklisted by New Line over the legal dispute, is able to return for the new film or not.

“I am glad to read that [The Hobbit] is looking more and more likely,” said the 68-year-old actor. “I would be disappointed if they didn’t want to have the original Gandalf. I suppose if I am still functioning and working well, it is very likely I would be asked to do it and if I were, I would be very pleased to do it.”

Sir Ian said he hoped Jackson would direct the movie, but said he had the director’s blessing to play Gandalf for someone else. “When Peter announced he had withdrawn from The Hobbit, he sent me an email saying ‘Because I am not going to do it, it doesn’t mean you have to do the same. Of course, you must play Gandalf whether I direct or not’,” said the Shakespearean actor.

Sir Ian portrayed the character in the three Lord of the Rings movies, one of the biggest box-office successes of all time, and earned a best supporting actor Oscar nomination for the part in 2002.

The Hobbit, first published In 1937, describes the adventures of Bilbo Baggins as he joins Gandalf and a group of dwarves in a quest to slay a dragon. During the quest, he discovers the powerful ring that plays a central part in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.