The observed anisotropic two-dimensional electron diffraction pattern of jet-cooled CS, molecules in an intense nanosecond Nd:YAG laser field (1064 nm, similar to 0.64 TW/cm(2), 10 ns) reported in our preceding Letter was analyzed quantitatively. The temporal and spatial distributions of the laser pulses and the electron beam packets were taken into account for a numerical simulation of the observed diffraction pattern. The anisotropy of the spatial distribution of molecular axes of CS2 in the direction of laser polarization is accounted for by the effect of the intense laser field. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.