HONG KONG (Reuters) - British scientists listed specific body parts of dead Hong Kong children they needed for nuclear experiments between the 1950s and 1970s, the South China Morning Post reported on Friday.

Citing official British records, the newspaper said some Hong Kong medical officials had given approval for bodies of Hong Kong children to be used in the tests without parental consent.

Pressure has been mounting on the Hong Kong government for a probe into recent reports in British newspapers that some 6,000 stillborn babies and dead infants were sent from Australia, Britain, Canada, Hong Kong, the United States and South America over a 15-year period.

The bodies and body parts were used by the U.S. Department of Energy for tests to monitor the impact of fallout and radioactivity from nuclear tests.

The remains of Hong Kong babies were also used by British scientists for similar tests and research that ended only in the 1970s.

According to the Post, Hong Kong health authorities were given detailed instructions by British scientists.

``What we most need are bones from children 0-5 years of age with the following minimum requirements: one complete femur from each child, cleaned from soft tissue,'' it quoted documents obtained from Britain's Public Records Office as saying.

``The following particulars about each subject: name; date of birth; date of death; whether breast or bottle-fed; place where the child lived; any other information thought relevant.''

In 1961, one scientist and a colleague analyzed samples from 31 Hong Kong children, which did not indicate dangerous levels of radioactive element Strontium 90.

The Hong Kong government has said it would not investigate the reports unless specific evidence came to light that Hong Kong babies had been used in the tests.

Government representatives were not immediately available for comment on the Post report.

Australia confirmed last week that cremated bones from some Australian babies, children and adults of up to 39 years old had been shipped to the United States and Britain to test for radioactive fallout from nuclear tests.