But while bingo enjoys a more benign image than other forms of gambling, lawmakers still are often reluctant to expand it.

Moreover, in part because of its benign image, regulation in many states is lax.

It had created a continent in (with all its imperfections) a benign image.

"He has a much keener sense of power than appears in that benign image," an official close to him said.

His benign image could be deceptive.

But some legal scholars say officials are trying to create a more benign public image, even as their power expands.

Over the last decade the benign image of the antiquities collector has given way to a far more sinister one.

On the one hand it is trying to fashion a more benign image for itself in the post-Suharto era.

"These findings challenge the benign image of bottlenose dolphins," they said.