They have registered the portrait, name and signature of astronaut Yang Liwei, who has become a household name after he was blasted into space in October on China's first manned spacecraft, Shenzhou V.

Companies and individuals had used Yang's picture to promote their products since the successful space mission, which made China only the third country to send a person into orbit, after Russia and the United States.

The Beijing Space Medical Engineering Institute on Monday ordered all activities using Yang's name and images for commercial purposes to stop, threatening to take legal action.

Unauthorized use of Yang's picture and signature was not only illegal but also showed disrespect to Yang and infringed on his legal rights, the Institute said.

The Chinese name of the spacecraft, "Shenzhou wuhao," has also been registered as a trademark by its manufacturer, the Chinese Academy of Space Technology.

The move by government agencies to protect the use of Yang and the spacecraft's fame are likely to disappoint many businessmen eager to make money from China's space success.

China's successful manned space mission has triggered a feverish race among businessmen to cash in on the astronaut's fame by securing the right to use his name as a trademark.

Soon after fighter pilot Yang was identified as China's first man in orbit, applications to register his name as a trademark started arriving at government offices.

SPACE.WIRE