A woman aged 118 from Foshan in Guangdong Province had been chosen to star in a TV commercial for an alcohol company, the Yangcheng Evening News reported Monday.

Li Cairong, the heroine, would have the commercial filmed on the Great Wall in Beijing. She would thus break two world records by becoming the oldest person to climb the Great Wall and star in a TV commercial, the paper said.

But Li never drank alcohol, the report said.

Reported to have been born Nov. 12, 1885, Li is a peasant in Xi'an Village, Xiqiao Township in Foshan. Her family is reportedly applying for a Guinness record as the world's oldest person.

However, they have not yet been successful as there was no official document proving her exact birth date.

The alcohol company said it hit upon the idea to choose Li because her age fit its commercial concept -- to be healthy and long-lived.

Experts have argued that the old woman has had nothing to do with alcohol and the company was just trying to lure people to watch the commercial.

Wu Wenhu, a media professor with Jinan University in Guangzhou, said the company was trying to use sensationalism to serve its clients, but conceded it was neither illegal nor immoral. However, he doubted the ploy would work well as a sales gimmick.

(Shenzhen Daily July 29, 2003)