The short-range translational and orientational order around a rigid linear solute molecule immersed in a dense simple liquid is investigated within the Percus-Yevick theory. The orientational correlations induced by the anisotropic solute-solvent interaction are analyzed by a spherical harmonics expansion. The smearing of the local shell structure is studied for increasingly anisotropic model molecules and for different liquid densities. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.