Singapore sex lessons by text message

There is social stigma surrounding sex in Asia

Singaporeans who are too embarrassed to ask about sex can send anonymous text message questions to an international panel of experts under a new scheme.

It's difficult for children to ask parents about sex

Peter Lim, Singapore Planned Parenthood Association

Participants of "Sex in the Air" are not attempting to join the mile-high club, but are taking part in a 10-day sex education campaign in the conservative city-state.

The teenagers can expect a doctor from Singapore, Amsterdam or Melbourne to answer their queries within two days.

Text messaging is hugely popular in Singapore, which boasts the most mobile phone users per capita in the world.

Sex education campaigners hope text messaging will be a way for shy teenagers to learn to protect themselves from HIV and sexually-transmitted diseases.

Pornography and homosexuality are illegal in Singapore, and racy scenes are censored from films. But non-governmental group Action for Aids says HIV is just as prevalent in Singapore as in other developed nations.

Breaking the taboo

Participants in the scheme can send one message each after logging on to the website www.meggpower.com.

"It's difficult for children to ask parents about sex," said Dr Peter Lim, a member of the Singapore Planned Parenthood Association (SPPA) - one of the organisations supporting the scheme.

Nevertheless a survey this year by SPPA found that nearly one in five teenagers have had sex - a jump from just 3.4% in 1999.

Wei Sang Yu, founder of the scheme, has already launched another innovative health project using text messaging.

Megg Alert, which began in May, sends messages to subscribers each month reminding them that they may be premenstrual or menstruating.

Singapore's mobile phone networks handle 15 million messages a day for a population of only four million people.