The halftime show at the annual American football finale made headlines across the world after Janet Jackson briefly exposed her breast two years ago.

With the world's media hungry for more controversy, it appears that ABC, the US network, opted for caution in its treatment of the Rolling Stones broadcast before an esitmated worldwide audience of one billion viewers.

Two, allegedly sexually explicit, lyrics were blocked from transmission. The Stones classic, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, however, made it through cuts free despite the salacious theme which runs through the tune.

One word was removed from Start Me Up, apparently a reference to a woman's sexual sway over a dead man while lyrics for Rough Justice included a synonym for rooster which was also censored.

This was the first show where a five-second tape delay had been imposed on the Super Bowl broadcast, a legacy of the Janet Jackson controversy.