Is Beyoncé Now A White Woman?

Controversial:This fresh image of Beyoncé - used to promote her fourth album - show her skin much lighter than her natural tone

She faced controversy back in 2008 when her skin appeared shades lighter in an advertisement.

But it appears Beyoncé - or her producers - have not learned their lesson.

A promotional picture has emerged of the pop princess looking much paler than her usual colour.

The new photo, taken before the 30-year-old fell pregnant with her newborn daughter, are being used to re-advertise her fourth album, 4, which was released last year.

In the seductive pose, Beyoncé dons a blonde wig and lies on a leopard-print couch, wearing a skimpy black crochet monokini.

Spot the difference: Beyonce on January 5 (right), two days before giving birth to her daughter

And some commentators have expressed fears, that these images of the superstar singer - who is famous for her honey-toned hair and complexion, could have the effect of making darker-skinned black girls ashamed of how they look.

In August 2008, cosmetics giant L’Oreal was accused of ‘whitewashing’ the star in an advert by digitally lightening her skin.

And last February, a very blonde Beyonce stepped out, wearing a black minidress which revealed unusually pale skin on the star.

At the time writer Yasmin Alibhai-Brown accused the singer of 'betraying all Black and Asian women.'

She wrote in The Daily Mail: 'Too many black and Asian children grow up understanding the sad truth that to have dark skin is to be somehow inferior.

'Of course, black and Asian parents work hard to give their children a positive self-image and confidence in their appearance, despite the cultural forces stacked against them.

'But when black celebrities appear to deny their heritage by trying to make themselves look white, I despair for the youngsters who see those images.'

At the time, the cosmetics house denied that the pictures had been altered in such a way but The New York Post newspaper called the advert ‘shocking’ and accused it of making the singer look like a ‘weird, nearly white version of herself’.

She has not commented on the photos.

Beyoncé was born and raised in Texas by her African father and mixed-race mother. The singer gave birth to her first child, daughter Blue Ivy Carter, last Saturday in New York.

Blonde ambition: Beyonce seen left in July 2011, and right seen shopping in Los Angeles in February of the same year