Hospital with copyright to "Peter Pan" find Wendy in new book too sexy

The work, "The Lost Girls," by graphic novelist Alan Moore, is about three world-famous girl characters: Wendy, Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz" and Alice from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

It shows them meeting one another and having sexual adventures. Wendy not only engages in erotic trysts, she also encounters pedophiles.

The book, being published in Britain and the United States, includes drawings by artist Melinda Gebbie of sexual acts that could be considered pornographic.

"We understand this graphic novel involves characters from the story of J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan & Wendy," which is, of course, in copyright in the U.K. and EU," the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children said in a statement about Moore's book.

In a recent interview with the British Broadcasting Corp., Moore said "The Lost Girls" was inspired by "Peter Pan," but that he doesn't intend to seek permission from the hospital to use the Wendy character.

The hospital said its copyright to the "Peter Pan" book, play and characters expires in Europe in January 2008, but that it will continue to collect royalties in Britain.

Copyright control over the "Peter Pan" story has been disputed in the United States, where The Walt Disney Co. made a famous movie about it.