Can spiderman help UN beat evil?

When critics attack the United Nations, they often accuse the world body of being a web of bureaucracy. Now officials there are hoping to turn that image around by using the web of Spiderman. The UN recently announced a union with the comic book company, Marvel. Together, they aim to print a special comic that will see the superhero fight alongside UN aid workers and peacekeepers.

Marvel scribes have offered to pen the work for free. The UN is now seeking private backing so it can distribute 1m free copies to American schoolchildren. The project's creator, the French producer Romuald Sciora, says he hopes it will then be translated into European languages.

Already critics warn their spider-sense is tingling. John Bolton, the outspoken former US envoy to the UN, called it an "act of desperation". He said the world body should concentrate on improving its overall performance."You can have Spiderman in a comic book all you want, but it's not going to change public perception," he told the BBC: However, the UN's top man on the project says critics are missing the point . - BBC