Ananova:

A Norwegian shooting champion is posing naked to try and pay his way to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Are Hansen, 24, is hoping to sell the pictures which show him naked but for a strategically held rifle, reports Aftenposten.

The Norwegian shooters' association has no main sponsor and competitors have to pay their own way to major competitions.

Hansen, an engineering student, took part in the World Cup opening in China in March and finished in eight place - but it cost him nearly £1,000.

"We had to pay half the tour ourselves, and for me, that amounted to 10,000 kroner," he said.

"We simply can't afford to send out all the shooters who qualify," admitted national shooting coach Christian Lilleng.