Prayer leaders at mosques in Turkey will give special sermons during Friday prayer to help raise public awareness about AIDS.

It is part of a government initiative during International Aids week to spread information to young people on how to protect themselves against the disease.

There are fewer than one-thousand cases of HIV infection in Turkey, but the government believes there is no reason for complacency, and it has asked prayer leaders to advise people on how to lead a healthy sex life.

In many communities in Turkey the mosque is still the centre of social life and the best channel for public information.