Egypt has decided to legalise the sale of the anti-impotence drug, Viagra.

The drug has been banned in Egypt since it first came on the market last year.

According to the Egyptian news agency, Mena, the government has ruled that Viagra can only be prescribed to a patient once, and not at all to men suffering from heart problems.

Full medical check-ups are to be given before the drug is prescribed.

The Egyptian Health Ministry resisted approving the drug, because it said it wanted to conduct its own tests to ensure safety.

However, a leading Egyptian expert on Viagra has told the BBC he was not aware of any major tests that have been conducted and it was not clear why the ministry had reversed the ban now.

Black market

The Cairo Government may in part have been motivated by the thriving black market in Viagra that resulted from the ban.

Individual pills have been selling for upwards of $10 in Egypt.

On Sunday customs officials at Cairo airport thwarted an attempt to smuggle a large quantity of Viagra pills into Egypt from Britain.

It was reported to be one of the biggest hauls ever made of the drug in Egypt.

Customs officials at Cairo airport say they were alerted by the nervous behaviour of an Egyptian tour representative accompanying a group of tourists from Britain.

Opening up the group's bags, they found that the Egyptian was carrying nearly 15,000 Viagra pills, as well as a large quantity of sedatives.

Impotence 'common'

In May 1998, three Egyptians were taken to intensive care apparently suffering from side-effects caused by Viagra.

Doctors say male impotence in Egypt is relatively common, in part because of smoking and diabetes.

Some experts blame this on high levels of pollution and on the widespread use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in Egyptian agriculture.