A person dressed up in costume takes part in the Venice Carnival in St. Mark's square Feb. 2, 2008. (photo: Xinhua/Reuters)

Carnival revellers dressed as "Peliqueiros" run through a street in Spain's northwestern village of Laza Feb. 3, 2008. "Peliqueiros", or ancient tax collectors, pursued villagers through the streets ringing their cowbells and hitting villagers with their sticks.

Carnival revellers throw sweets in front of Berlin's famous landmark Kaiser Wilhelm Gedaechtniskirche 'Emperor Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin Feb. 3, 2008.

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Revellers wearing watermelons on their heads arrive for the annual block party known as the Banda de Ipanema, just one of the many carnival parties to take over neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro, Feb. 2, 2008. Revellers dressed as cavemen, Arab dancers, pirates and a host of other characters took over downtown Rio de Janeiro as the world's biggest street party lurched into full swing.

(Xinhua News Agency February 4, 2008)