AMERICANS will soon be able to spice up their burgers and fries with a dash of “shock and awe” hot sauce, or to buy lingerie, crisps, mayonnaise, trainers and golf balls all branded with the name given to the heavy bombardment tactics employed by US forces in the war against Iraq.

Dozens of American entrepreneurs are battling for the rights to use “shock and awe” as a brand name by applying to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

The term was first coined by the Pentagon as a description of the battle plan to fire missiles on key targets in central Baghdad. So far, 26 companies have registered an interest with the militaristic moniker.

Eric Karich, a trademark lawyer from Texas, has filed an application for 160 different products. “The military planners did such a great job with branding that battle plan as shock and awe. When I heard it on the news I was thinking to myself what a great trademark it would make,” Mr Karich said.

Mr Karich has registered the “shock and awe” name for products such as boxing gloves, condoms, firearms and motorcycles.

But there are also more curious applications under his name such as doll’s house furniture, lotions and shampoo and something described as “foreign language mastering through language translation and either subtitling or voice dubbing”.

The first application to use shock and awe as a brand name was filed by a fireworks company on March 20, the same day that America began bombing in Baghdad.