Hefner rush-releasing Lohan's Playboy issue after leak

Publishing boss Hugh Hefner is bumping up the release of Lindsay Lohan's sexy Playboy magazine shoot after the full pictorial leaked online weeks before it was due to hit newsstands.

The Mean Girls star, who banked $1 million for the nude spread, had planned to give fans a sneak peek of the Marilyn Monroe-inspired images during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show next Thursday (15Dec11).

But an unauthorised photo of the highly-anticipated cover shot was posted on the internet on Wednesday (07Dec11) - and the complete set of revealing images followed in another unofficial release on Friday (09Dec11).

Among the images, Lohan, wearing just a pair of high heels, is shown posing on all fours on a red couch shaped like a pair of lips, while she is also depicted reclining on a bed with her hands on her breasts.

Hefner brushed off the early unveiling, insisting the Lohan issue "is going to be a true Collector's Edition", but now he's taking action to try and combat the potential loss in sales by rush-releasing the January/February (12) edition of the magazine.

In a post on Twitter.com, he writes, "Because of the interest & the Internet leak, we're releasing the Lindsay Lohan issue early."

A specific release date had yet to be announced as WENN went to press.