By Roger Maynard, Australia Correspondent

SYDNEY: Australia's Minister for Defence Joel Fitzgibbon yesterday agreed to examine claims that a naval frigate was used to promote a Sydney basketball team sponsored by a company whose shareholders included military top brass.

The 4,200-tonne guided missile frigate HMAS Sydney was handed over at taxpayers' expense to launch the 2006 season of the Sydney Kings, whose part-owner and sponsor was Firepower, a failed fuel additive company whose founder later fled Australia.

It was a marketing coup for Firepower, as uniformed sailors served food and drinks to guests aboard the naval vessel moored in the Sydney Harbour, and officers and sports stars posed for photographs on deck.

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