Morality laws in Sri Lanka are to be reviewed by a special government committee.

The announcement comes at a time of increasing demands for Sri Lanka's century-old ban on homosexuality to be lifted.

A government statement did not mention homosexuality, but said it wanted to establish what was described as a firm policy on the portrayal of sex, violence and the abuse of alcohol.

Gay rights groups in Sri Lanka say the laws against adult homosexual behaviour should be abolished, because nobody has been prosecuted under them in recent years.