Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone has been charged with importing a banned human growth hormone into Australia. The actor, 60, was stopped at Sydney airport last month by customs officials who claim he had 48 vials of a banned substance in his luggage.                                                                                                     

Stallone found fame through his Rocky and Rambo films

Stallone, who was in Australia to promote recent film Rocky Balboa, faces a possible fine of A$22,000 (£8,930).

The muscle-building hormone product, Jintropin, is classed as a performance enhancing drug in Australia.

Such products cannot be imported into Australia without a special permit.

Prosecution documents handed to a Sydney court on Tuesday said Stallone had marked “no” on a customs declaration form that asked if he was bringing restricted substances into the country.

HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE Made in the pituitary gland Stimulates growth in children Regulates metabolism in adults Medical uses include reversing muscle wastage in Aids patients Has been promoted as an anti-ageing treatment Jintropin is a synthetic version of the hormone Read more

But an X-ray of bags belonging to his entourage uncovered the bottles of Jintropin, which is made by Chinese firm GeneScience pharmaceuticals.

“You have not been validly prescribed the goods by a medical practitioner for any medical condition suffered by you and for which the goods are recognised medical treatment,” Stallone was told in a customs document submitted to the court.

Stallone and his team were held at Sydney airport for several hours following the discovery.

The maximum penalty for the offence is A$110,000 (£44,639) and a five-year prison sentence - Stallone faces a lesser fine because the case is being prosecuted in a local court.

The actor was not present to hear the charge against him at Tuesday’s hearing.

He is thought to be in Thailand, where he is making his fourth Rambo film.

At the time, Stallone dismissed the incident as a “misunderstanding”, adding that customs officials were “just doing their jobs”.

“I just didn’t understand some of the rules here,” he explained.

Soap torture complaints rejected

Some viewers were worried the scene might be imitated Scenes of bullying and torture in ITV soap Coronation Street have been cleared by TV watchdog Ofcom after more than 30 viewers complained.An episode shown last October featured womanising builder Charlie Stubbs tying up teenager David Platt and forcing his head under water. Ofcom received 31 complaints saying such scenes were unacceptable before the watershed and might be imitated. But Ofcom decided the scene was “editorially justified”. ITV1 insisted the audience knew that Charlie, played by Bill Ward, was a womanising bully and were prepared for the confrontation. ‘Some risk’ The broadcaster said the words “Charlie has a nasty surprise for David” before the programme hinted at what was to come. The episode had Charlie luring David, played by Jack Shepherd, into a flat to exact revenge for weeks of taunting over an affair. Ofcom said: “Even if there were some risk of imitation, we believe that the scenes were editorially justified by the plot development, the characters involved and the manner in which it was edited.” But it added that the broadcaster could have given more warning about the violent content before the episode was aired.

The Windows Live brain drain continues as news sources are reporting that Windows Live Search vice president Christopher Payne will be stepping down shortly.

The Wall Street Journal says sources are indicating that Payne will be leaving the company to start his own business, and that Microsoft has not yet decided on a successor. Microsoft is so far declining to comment on the reports.

Payne’s departure would follow that of Blake Irving, who is set to retire. Irving was the vice president of the Windows Live platforms group and became the public face of the initiative to many in the tech community. It may also signal more serious trouble within the unit.

Windows Live Search has steadily been losing share in most surveys, and the overall brand has seen several services either be cut or end up being switched to the better-known MSN brand in an attempt to keep them alive.

This follows a dizzying period where as many as three dozen different Live-branded projects were in development at one time. Last year, at a gathering in Redmond for bloggers and MVPs, many commented after the event about how the Windows Live effort seemed to lack direction.

Some caution, however, on focusing too much on Windows Live’s revolving door. “Although Microsoft seems confused and directionless, they are undoubtedly treating Windows Live as their long-term strategy to challenge Google,” Windows Live watcher Chris Overd said, who runs the Web log LiveSide.net.

“The loss of these key executives is not as important as the individuals they choose to replace them, especially with Search being such an uphill struggle,” he continued.

Payne worked with Microsoft on Access during the 90s, but left for three years to work with Amazon.com. In 2001, he returned to the company, and most recently oversaw Microsoft’s online search division. He played a major role in convincing Microsoft to invest in its own search technologies.