http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orient
"American English
While a small number of reference works used in the United States describe Oriental as pejorative, or antiquated but not necessarily offensive, the American Heritage Book of English Usage notes that:
It is worth remembering, though, that Oriental is not an ethnic slur to be avoided in all situations. It is most objectionable in contemporary contexts and when used as a noun, as in the appointment of an Oriental to head the commission. But in certain historical contexts, or when its exotic connotations are integral to the topic, Oriental remains a useful term.[6]
British English
In British English, the term Oriental is not typically considered pejorative, and refers to people from East and Southeast Asia. Asian is generally used only to mean people from South Asia.[9] This usage reflects historic immigration into the UK, since more than 50% of the non-European population is British Asian, whereas East and Southeast Asians comprise only 5-6% of the non-European population. Of those, the majority are of Chinese descent.[10]
Australian English
In Australian English, the term "Asian" generally refers to people of Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese ethnicity. Australians generally refer to people of Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, or Chinese descent as Asian, and persons of Indian, Pakistani or Sri Lankan descent by their respective demonym but without explicit knowledge, are inconfidently inferred as Indian.
Although more specific, the word Oriental, in place of Asian, is seldom used in colloquial conversation in Australia and is understood, but considered anachronistic rather than offensive, similar to Grecian in place of Greek."
