Abstract: We study the confinement of a C-60 molecule encapsulated in a cylindrical nanotube as a function of the tube radius. Drawing the Mercator maps of the potential, we find two distinct molecular orientations; for tubes with small radii, R-T less than or similar to 7 angstrom, a fivefold axis of the molecule coincides with the tube long axis, for larger radii, R-T less than or similar to 8 angstrom, a threefold axis of the molecule coincides with the tube long axis. These different orientations are caused by the relative importance of the repulsive and the attractive parts of the van der Waals potentials of the molecule with the tube wall for small and large tubes respectively. Experimental evidence is provided by the apparent splitting of A(g) modes of the C-60 molecule in resonant Raman scattering.