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Teenagers still have qualms about "going all the way" rather than being stereotypical sex-mad young people responsible for high rates of sexually transmitted infections and pregnancies, a report suggests today.

The age-old conflict between being one of the lads and admitting inexperience and nervousness about sex still torments boys, while girls both show a sophisticated understanding of sexual relationships and, sometimes, admit to consenting to sex to keep their partners.

Young people are sexually active earlier than they were - the average age is now 16 - but many believe their peers are more experienced than is actually the case, research has already shown.

Opinions from teenagers gathered in discussions led by consultancy Opinion Leader Research and published in "Are you ready?" demonstrate just how complicated some of their decision-making is.

As one boy in a group of 15-16-year-olds put it: "Your friends influence you. Peer pressure. They can get right down your neck. They can be like, come on, you haven't done it yet. And then you think, okay then."

Or as a younger boy put it: "It's like a competition. It's like the first one, to, like get off with a girl or something, that's all it is, it's like a big game."

The other sex is not immune from such pressures either.

A woman in the 17-19-year-old group, said: "Depends what group you're in. It totally depends again on the young people that you hang around with or the person themselves."

Image and reputation still matters. A younger teenager said: "The girls ... they get called names. If boys do it's all right for them. It's like say, if you do something like with a boy, you can be called a tart, but if a boy did it they're like 'oh - good work' ".

Girls and young women however are more likely to talk about the emotional side.

"If you are questioning it, you are not ready." But then one of the older male teenagers could also put it this way: "If you are sensible enough to sit down with your girlfriend and have a chat about it, that shows a little bit that you are ready."

The teenagers were unimpressed by sex education in schools, saying it was poorly delivered , did not prepare them for the realities of relationships, and concentrated almost exclusively on heterosexual relationships, thus being largely irrelevant for young gay and lesbian people.

Anne Weyman, chief executive of the Family Planning Association, which commissioned the report, said: "Young people have quite a sophisticated understanding of sexual relationships but they are stranded in an information wilderness."

The benefits of talking to parents about sex and relationships were also enormous.

James Meikle, health correspondent

The Guardian

Bosses at BP - Britain's biggest firm - have fired off a memo to staff - asking them to stop having sex in the office.

It comes after romps in toilets, in a meeting room and behind cabinets were caught on CCTV cameras, says The Sun.

The memo told managers: "A reminder to your teams that some areas of the office are covered by CCTV.

"Whilst this hasn't been any use whatsoever in identifying people nicking bits and bobs from desks, it has highlighted that a number of staff have been having sex in the office.

"Clearly, this proved of great excitement to the security staff who have to monitor footage. When faced with a view of the stationery cupboard and a view of two people going at it in a meeting room, guess which one they chose to watch."

The bulletin warns that while these are not monitored, "when a male and a female enter the ladies' loos and then come out again 15 minutes later looking rather flushed in the face, it can be quite easy to guess what's been going on".

Minutes of a Health, Safety, Security and Environment meeting identify other popular venues for romantic liaisons at the HQ complex in London's financial area.

They included 'the meeting room that has just had a sofa put in', 'the purple soft seating area behind the cabinets', '4th floor in any of the nooks and crannies' and 'shower cubicles'.

A BP spokeswoman confirmed the memo had gone out and added: "It was one of a number of humorous comments designed to draw attention to serious Health and Safety issues."

Ananova

A Swiss men's magazine has come under fire after it offered readers free sex.

Pietro Attardo, spokesman for the magazine Okay, said: "We wanted to offer something that beats the free music CDs or posters that our rivals were offering."

The offer was to mark the mag's 20th anniversary and every reader was offered a free trip to an 'erotic studio' including free sexual services.

But Swiss MP Heiner Studer said: "It's a disgrace, this magazine is not even classed as an adult magazine."

The magazine's campaign was an instant hit after some local radio stations refused to carry adverts promoting the unusual offer - which was then written about in Swiss media.

Attardo added: "I don't know why the radio stations refused to carry the advert, every man wants free sex."

Ananova

A love pill for women will soon be available in Britain.

Femi-X is based on traditional herbal aphrodisiacs, reports the Daily Telegraph.

They include horny goat weed, gingko biloba, smilex, damiana and matte, said to enhance endurance.

A study in France found women taking the pill reported a "more satisfying sex life overall".

Femi-X was produced by Danish company Denmark House with the help of a British herbal medicine expert.

Peter Houghton, professor of pharmacognosy at King's College, London, said: "What the research study found was more satisfactory sex and increased sensitivity.

"There was also increased blood flow, an action a little like Viagra.

"We are not saying this would work for everyone. It would not turn someone on if they did not want to be. Rather, it is the icing on the cake."

Ananova

A Romanian father-of-five needed medical help after he superglued a condom to his penis.

Nicolae Popovici, 43, told doctors he didn't want any more children, reports National newspaper.

The man, from Topraiser in Constanta county, named only as NP in the paper, already has five children.

He and his wife decided to use contraception but the condom they bought was too big so he stuck it on with glue.

After sex, the man realised he couldn't remove the condom and went to his village's medical clinic for help.

A nurse said: "He even said that he thought the condom could be used several times and that he wanted it stuck on his penis so he could use it again later. We barely managed to remove it in the end."

Ananova

Nature is fighting back in response to female promiscuity by producing a biological 'sperm' chastity belt, say US scientists.

Semen becomes more sticky to act as a plug, thereby preventing sperm from competitors impregnating females who sleep around, they found.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute team, along with colleagues from Chicago and Kansas City, studied humans, monkeys and gorillas.

The findings appear in Nature Genetics.

The researchers examined the semen of 12 different species of primates.

In species where the females were most promiscuous, the males had developed several strategies to ensure they would be the male most likely to father any offspring and pass on their genes.

As well as having larger testicles and producing more sperm, the semen was more sticky.

Chimpanzees, for example, which are a promiscuous species, had more advanced evolution of a gene controlling the stickiness of semen than gorillas, which tend to be monogamous and stay faithful to their partner for life.

Humans were midway between, suggesting that while women are nothing like as promiscuous as chimps, neither are they as faithful as gorillas.

Sticky solution

Lead researcher Dr Bruce Lahn said: "The idea is that in species with promiscuous females, there's more selective pressure for the male to make his semen more competitive.

"It's similar to the pressures of a competitive marketplace.

"In such a marketplace, competitors have to constantly change their products to make them better, to give them an edge over their rivals - whereas, in a monopoly, there's no incentive to change."

The gene in question is called SEMG2 and controls the production of a component of semen, called semen coagulum, that acts like a glue.

In the most extreme cases, its effects were so pronounced that the semen became a solid plug - effectively a chastity belt.

Dr Allan Pacey, Senior Lecturer in Andrology at Sheffield University and member of the British Fertility Society, said: "We know that genes controlling reproductive processes are some of the most rapidly evolving in the animal kingdom.

"Clearly, successful conception is not solely about the quality or quantity of the sperm inseminated - subtle aspects of semen biochemistry, or aspects of the physiology of the female reproductive tract, are just as important.

"Sperm competition is an evolutionary arms race, with males developing increasingly sophisticated strategies to tip the balance towards successful conception and at the same time hinder the chances of rival males."

BBC News

US pornography magnate Larry Flynt says he wants to open 10 sex shops across the UK over the next few years.

Mr Flynt was speaking as he launched his first British outlet in Birmingham city centre.

The Hustler Hollywood stop is located on Birmingham High Street, next door to Boots and opposite Marks & Spencer.

Mr Flynt claims it is the largest sex product outlet in the UK, and urged the UK public not to prejudge his stores without trying them first.

'Posh'

The 6,000sq ft Birmingham shop and cafe stocks products including lingerie, sex toys, body oils, scented candles, novelties for hen and stag nights, Hustler branded clothing, books and jewellery.

It is decked out in velvet and leopard skin print with the more adult material displayed in walk-in pods, hidden from the view of the passing public.

Hustler hopes the outlet will stimulate "sex wars on the high street" and rival existing main street sex shop chain Ann Summers.

"People are always apprehensive when we open a store because they have all kinds if visions, like we are opening a brothel or something," said Mr Flynt.

"That's not what Hustler is about."

Men and women

The Hollywood Hustler stores were conceived by Mr Flynt's daughter Theresa Flynt-Gaerke.

She said that, far from being "seedy", they had an upmarket feel.

"A Hollywood Hustler store is very classy," she said.

Ms Flynt-Gaerke added that what differentiated it from Ann Summers was that "we target couples, Ann Summers targets women, it's a very different experience."

Hustler hopes to establish 10 stores across the UK by 2012 and has plans to open its next branches in London's Covent Garden, Nottingham and Cardiff.

Liberal Britain?

Hustler Hollywood's UK project manager, Roger Ede, said it cost ?4.7m ($8.6m) to open the Birmingham store and that it was projected to take ?2.5m in its first year.

Jay Munn, from Halesowen, West Midlands, was out Christmas shopping in Birmingham with her 13-year-old daughter when they happened across the Hustler Hollywood opening.

"I am not offended at all," she said. "Each to their own, I say."

"I think people are more open minded than they used to be, especially after Ann Summers."

The opening of first Hustler Hollywood store comes a week after high street chemist Boots said it was considering selling sex toys as a way of strengthening sales among women.

BBC News

People who are able to speak foreign languages have increased earning power and are popular with the opposite sex, a report suggests.

Speaking a second language can increase an average worker's salary by £3,000 a year, or £145,000 in a lifetime.

Among higher earners the difference is even greater, the study for the Michel Thomas Language Centre says.

A survey of 2,700 firms found nine out of 10 thought their businesses could benefit from better language skills.

The sector most in need of language skills is media, sales and marketing, according to the companies surveyed.

Dating agencies

The study was carried out by business journalist Philip Beresford, who compiles the Sunday Times Rich List.

He suggests there is a personal benefit to having a second language, as well as a financial one.

He contacted 270 dating agencies in the UK and found 97% asked their clients if they had a second language.

The agencies said they did so because prospective daters saw someone with a foreign language as both more intelligent and sexier than other people.

Michel Thomas, whose business teaches languages in the US and the UK, said: "When I opened my language centre in Beverley Hills in 1947, I was convinced that learning another language could change your life for the better.

"Now, in the form of this report, we finally have concrete proof that this is the case."

This year the government removed the requirement for all children in England to study a foreign language to GCSE level.

The education inspectorate, Ofsted, said last month that less than half of the 16 year olds in deprived areas were studying a foreign language.

Instead, primary schools are being encouraged to give children foreign language lessons by 2010.

BBC News

High Street chemist Boots has said it is considering selling sex toys at most of its nationwide stores.

Analysts say the aim of the move is to strengthen sales among women - the store's key customers.

Condom maker Durex - which also makes sex toys - is in discussion with Boots over possibly providing the toys in time for Christmas.

Garry Watts, chief executive of Durex's parent company SSL, said Boots was simply picking up on a modern trend.

Changing attitudes

"People are becoming...more open-minded. Products to help people have a healthy and happy love life are much more normal," he said.

"It is right and proper we should be bringing them to the market via those channels."

Boots has said the discussions with SSL are still at an early stage.

The announcement comes as Boots has said it will stop offering some dental services.

The firm has recently been targeted by supermarket chains hoping to take away traditional Boots custom.

BBC News

A new campaign to encourage young Americans to vote on election day is using a novel incentive - sex pledges.

Americans who sign up to Votergasm can pledge to withhold sex from a non-voter for up to four years until the next presidential election in 2008.

A spokeswoman told the BBC that the internet-based campaign aims to boost voter turnout among young people, as well as promoting safe, consensual sex.

Organisers claim that 30,000 people have already signed up to the campaign.

Citizen, patriot or hero?

Voters who visit the Votergasm website can choose from three different levels of commitment:

• "Votergasm citizens" must pledge to withhold sex from non-voters for a week after election night
• "Patriot-level commitment" requires a voter to have sex with another voter on election night as well as withholding sex from non-voters for a week
• Those who take the most extreme pledge, called "American hero", commit themselves to having sex with another 2004 voter as well as turning down all non-voters until the 2008 vote.