BLOOMINGTON - Female employees at State Farm Insurance Cos. have already applied to pose suggestively for a calendar to benefit New Orleans.

Applications have come from as far as Delaware, Bloomington photographer Anthony Saluto said Wednesday, just one day after publicizing his plans to compile a "Women of State Farm" calendar.

He didn't know how many applications he'd received, but said he would need a lot more.

State Farm, meanwhile, has already sent Saluto a letter advising him not to use company trademarks. Saluto would not comment on the letter but said he's proceeding with plans.

Saluto said he came up with the idea for a "Women of State Farm" calendar before Hurricane Katrina smashed the Gulf Coast and left some State Farm policyholders crying foul.

"People may take this two different ways, but the reality is this is a way to raise money for New Orleans," Saluto said.

"There won't be any full nudity," he added. "It'll be tasteful. The preacher's definition of tasteful may be different than your's or mine. Who knows?"

Regardless of taste, State Farm isn't thrilled with the idea. When asked about potential disciplinary action, spokesman Kipp Diggs said the company couldn't stop employees from posing for the calendar. State Farm could, however, prohibit Saluto from using the company name, Diggs said.

"As far as him using our trademarks, that we would have a problem with. We wouldn't be likely to just let that go," Diggs said, when asked if State Farm would seek legal action if Saluto published a State Farm calendar.

Provocative calendars have become a hit in the fund-raising world, fueled by a 2000 calendar of 50- to 70-somethings in England who posed nude for cancer research. Those photo shoots inspired the 2003 British film Calendar Girls and raised around $2.55 million through calendar sales and book and film royalties.

In Central Illinois, a now-defunct production company released a "Girls of Engineering" calendar in October that featured engineering students at the University of Illinois. Take a peek at www.girlsofengineering.com.

Calendar producer Syed Karim had no problem finding girls. More than 70 students volunteered to model, he said.

Calendar sales have been slow, however. To date, Karim has sold about 300 calendars through word-of-mouth marketing.

Saluto is planning a marketing blitz to sell the calendar through national retail chains. He expects to sell at least 5,000 copies at $8 a pop. He'll donate 50 percent of net proceeds to artists and photographers in New Orleans.

If interested in posing, State Farm employees over the age of 18 can submit photos to P.O. Box 3425, Bloomington, Ill., 61702 or e-mail images to gosaluto@bellsouth.net. Women chosen will receive $500 plus prints and calendars.

"It's a beauty pageant," Saluto said.

The deadline to enter is Valentine's Day.

Saluto hopes to have the calendar in circulation by September.

To view Saluto's work, visit www.worldsbestphotos.blogspot.com.