(CANNES, France) -- Fear of a U.S. government backlash against the thriving pornography business has sent a shiver down the spine of the birthday-suit set.

Arriving in this French Riviera resort on Wednesday night for their annual European awards ceremony, international porn stars strutted their silicone stuff, blowing kisses to the cameras and flashing their thighs to the photographers.

But the excesses of previous years was gone. There was no nudity, no hardcore video clips and barely an exposed breast in sight. In short, the industry was trying to clean up its act.

``There is fear out there. Times are changing and the business wants to become respectable,'' said director Axel Braun, who is based in the throbbing heart of the porn trade, Los Angeles.

George W. Bush's victory in last year's U.S. presidential election and the arrival of a conservative administration in Washington has left the gold-chained porn producers peering anxiously over their shoulders.

Even in the more liberal Europe, there are the first tentative signs of a counter-attack by the moral majority.

Porn actresses have flocked to the Cannes film festival over the past decade to share the limelight with the mainstream stars, but they suffered a setback this year when a beachfront hotel evicted them during a promotional event.

``Coming from the puritanical United States it is lovely to be in Europe, but yesterday we saw the specter of censorship in Cannes,'' said Paul Fishbein, head of the industry bible, the Adult Video News magazine. ``That is very disturbing.''

GUESTS TOLD TO BUTTON IT UP

After the hotel debacle, the organizers of Wednesday's Hot D'Or awards -- an irreverent take on the official Cannes Palme D'Or competition -- called for sobriety from their guests gathered in a plush hotel far from the glare of the main Riviera strip.

Many of the sun-tanned, manicured girls turned up in full-length dresses that hid even their ankles.

Chewing on massive cigars and guarding their starlettes like stern fathers, some of the producers thought that the financial might of their business would see off any political threat.

``The porn business is a giant ship. A chill wind is blowing, but it will take a long time for it to make us change direction,'' said Thomas Elliott, director of the Californian firm Fresh Produce.

``It might take four years and by then Bush should be out of office,'' he said.

But porn king Larry Flynt, who publishes Hustler magazine and is a fierce advocate of civil liberties, warned his cheering friends that they could take nothing for granted.

``You have the right to offend people. That is what free speech is all about,'' said Flynt as he received a lifetime Hot D'Or award.

``There are so many people who want to reap the benefits of the industry but don't want to stand up for it,'' he said.

The four-hour ceremony followed a similar format to that of the Oscars, with prizes for such unlikely categories as best script and best actor in a supporting role.

Tera Patrick, a smiling brunette who said she had a degree in micro biology, took the coveted Best American Actress prize.

``This is a good business with lovely people working in it,'' she said afterwards, clutching her golden statuette. ``There is a lot of politics around at the moment, but the show must go on.''