BEIJING, August 6, 2008 (AFP) - American swimmer Amanda Beard staged the first athlete protest of the Beijing Olympics, unveiling a nude photo of herself Wednesday outside the Athlete's Village to back an anti-animal cruelty cause.

The two-time Olympic champion, who will defend her 200-meter breaststroke gold medal from Athens, held a poster-sized version of her new advertisement in support of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

'The Olympics are a great forum for me to use to get my message out,' Beard said. 'It's a great thing for me to do.

'I'm saying not to kill innocent animals. There's nothing negative that goes into that.'

In the photo, a naked Beard is kneeling in water, her left hand covering her right breast and her right hand on her right hip as she stares into the camera with a huge American flag filling the entire background.

'I've done Playboy. I'm comfortable with my body,' Beard said. 'I go to the office in a swim suit. I'm comfortable with shedding a few more items of clothing. I don't think it's too crazy or risque.'

Mindful of Chinese government issues regarding protests and security, Beard said she wanted to make certain her message was conveyed without a great disturbance.

'You have concerns. I'm not out here taking my clothes off. We're doing it in a very positive way,' Beard said.

'I'm not trying to be in everybody's face and be harsh or negative. I want to be calm and yet get my voice out there. I'm doing it for all those animals who don't have a voice.'

The protest was originally planned in front of the Water Cube, the Olympic swim venue where Beard will compete.

But Chinese officials objected to using a venue area, prompting a move to the village south entrance under hazy skies with six-story gray athlete dormitories in the background.

'I think some people were scared of what this might become,' said Jason Baker, PETA's Asia-Pacific director. 'I think they tried (censorship) but it was not successful. Amanda didn't want her voice to be silenced.'

China is the world's top fur exporter but their farms have been widely condemned by PETA who claim animals are killed in brutal fashion, allegedly including electrocution and poison, and even skinned alive.

'I'm hopeful things will change here but I'm not optimistic. This is a message for the world,' Baker said. 'But things are changing. Five years ago you would never have considered doing things like this.'

Beard, who has been supported by some of her teammates, is ready for any criticism that might come from her protest move.

'There is always negative. Everyone has the right to their opinion. Not everyone is going to say, 'She's a great woman. She's doing a great thing.' That has never stopped me. I'm a strong-willed woman.'