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A book of stories about "what really happens" in women's sex lives has won an award in London.
The Welsh publishers says Laughing, Not Laughing is an antidote to titillating tales featured in some women's magazines.

Written by 26 women aged between 20 and 60, the book has won the publications category in the Erotic Awards.

Published by Aberystwyth-based Honno Welsh Women's Press, it is described as "unique" and "revolutionary."

Bridgend-born Elizabeth Baines who submitted a story for the book said: "In spite of our society being so sexualised and people supposedly open about sex, I feel the emotional side is not dealt with.

"I grew up in the 1960s when people were supposed to be mad for sex and open about it, but that was a lie for so many whose experiences of sex were painful.

"It's a kind of pressure that we're supposed to be open about sex and the book is an antidote to that.

"It focuses on the difficulties as well as the joy of sex, but it doesn't treat it (sex) as a commodity like so many magazines do."

Mrs Baines, who now lives in Manchester, added: "It's a unique and revolutionary book.

"It deals with he complexity of sex and how it's part of our emotional being."

Lindsay Ashford, publishing manager at Honno, said the book was a frank and unique look at sex.

"I don't know of any other book that draws on the experiences of those aged between 20 and 60," she said.

"It provides an antidote to women's magazines which say what women should be doing in their sex lives and what others are doing.

"You get the impression sometimes that people are at it (sex) all the time - the book is about what really happens instead of what's supposed to happen."

Mrs Ashford added: "There is a reluctance to talk about sex, although we're led to believe we live in an open society where we can talk about anything.

"The book isn't intended to be erotic, but there are some stories that are quite titillating and there are others which spell out the horrible things that have happened to women.

"We don't want it perceived as a so-called dirty book because it's not, it's a frank and honest and charts what really happens in women's sex lives."

Nicola Craddock, of Honno, received the award on behalf of the authors.

She said: "This award is wonderful recognition of the bravery of these women who have been willing to share their most personal experiences with us."

Laughing, Not Laughing, edited by Catherine Merriman, features many different aspects of sexual experience ranging from losing virginity, to sexual abuse, to lesbianism and lots more.

It was launched at The Guardian Hay Festival earlier this year.

Mrs Merriman said: "I am delighted that the courage of our contributors has been recognised, and it's hard to see where else this recognition might have come from - The Erotic Awards, after all, 'honour people who are unafraid to work in sexuality.'

The collection has also been selected by W H Smith as their Welsh book of the month for September.

BBC News

Schools in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo are to start using what is being billed as the country's first sex education handbook.

The book, entitled Thoughts of Teenagers, will go into use in October.

A local official told the China Daily the book addressed the psychology of sex, rather than just the physiology.

The official said a recent survey had shown students mainly learned about sex from the internet, friends and the media - rather than school or family.

The book was compiled by Xu Xiaohong, director of the Education and Research Department of Ningbo's Haishu District Education Bureau.

She was helped by a student psychology tutor and eight student advisers, the China Daily said.

"Issues such as masturbation, contraception, sex harassment, Aids and homosexuality, are handled in a scientific way," according to the paper.

Open discussion of sex is still rare in China, and the authorities only officially struck homosexuality off the list of mental illnesses two years ago.

But in another sign of growing openness, China's official press has also been reporting the interest shown in clinical trials for a drug aimed at helping women achieve orgasm.

More than 200 volunteers had registered to test a drug known as "female Viagra" by the end of August, China Daily International reported on Monday.

The China Daily commented on Tuesday: "Chinese women are paying attention to the quality of their sex life, a long-time taboo in Chinese society."

BBC News

Thousands of people will contract a sexually transmitted infection this weekend, campaigners have warned.

Officials behind the NHS 'Sex Lottery' campaign say there will be 1,440 cases of chlamydia, 572 cases of genital warts and 207 cases of gonorrhoea.

They are distributing 50,000 condoms in pubs and clubs this weekend in an effort to encourage people to practise safe sex.

Using a condom can reduce the risks of a range of STIs.

Figures released by the Health Protection Agency in July showed that the number of people being diagnosed with an STI in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is continuing to rise.

Cases of chlamydia - the most common STI - jumped by 9% last year.

The number of people who were told they had syphilis increased by 28%.

Overall, 708,083 people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland were diagnosed with an STI in 2003. The Sex Lottery campaign, first launched in 2002, aims to increase awareness of the risks of contracting an STI through unsafe sex.

A new series of saucy postcards is being launched this weekend to try to boost awareness further.

The Department of Health said it was keen to get the safe sex message out over the bank holiday weekend.

"With recent statistics showing an increase in STI rates, the Sex Lottery has launched a dedicated summer campaign to help raise awareness of the risks of unprotected sex," said a spokeswoman.

"The message is clear this bank holiday weekend - don't play the Sex Lottery, use a condom."

The fpa, formerly the Family Planning Association, welcomed the move.

"Raising more awareness about safe sex and distributing free condoms is great," a spokeswoman told BBC News Online.

Clinic waits

However, she said the Department of Health should also be doing more to help those who believe they may have contracted an STI.

Many people who suspect they may have an STI can wait weeks to be seen at NHS genito-urinary clinics.

The number of people visiting these clinics has soared in recent years and the NHS is struggling to cope.

A recent survey by the fpa suggested that one of the problems is that the clinics are not open long enough.

It found that over half the 256 clinics across the UK said they were open for less than 21 hours a week.

It also revealed that 16% of clinics had actually cut their opening times compared with two years ago. In addition, just two new clinics had opened across the UK since 2002.

"If someone tries to go to a clinic and doesn't get seen, the chances are they will not be back," the fpa spokeswoman said.

"They carry on having sex and can transmit their infection to others.

"There needs to more investment in these clinics so that people who suspect they have an STI are seen in a timely fashion."

BBC News

Olympic officials have gone to court to try to get the Greek edition of Playboy taken off news stands.

Marketing officials described the explicit take on the Olympics as a "brutal insult".

Headlines such as "2004 seconds of ecstasy" and "Go for a Sexathon gold" corrupts the Olympic image, they say.

Playboy also contains headlines such as "Gianna's wild Rogge and Roll" - a reference to International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge and Athens 2004 chief Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki.

It also sports a cartoon of the Olympic rings composed of condoms, says BBC News Online.

An Athens 2004 spokesman confirmed that a legal challenge had come from the image rights and marketing department. "The issue at stake here is the protection of the Olympic symbols," he said.

"There is nothing unusual about this type of action."

Greek Playboy's legal representative said the magazine had been flying off the shelves since the controversy.

In the run-up to the Olympics a number of athletes have posed, scantily clad, for men's magazines including Playboy, FHM and Maxim.

Ananova.com

The temperature is rising in inboxes as spammers attempt to promote a summer of 'love'. Pornographic spam has risen by almost 350% since June according to e-mail filter firm Clearswift.

In a possible attempt to keep up with demand, the number of junk e-mails offering Viagra has also risen significantly.

"It is baffling why there is such a huge uprise," said technical director of Clearswift Alyn Hockey.

Randomness of spam

One of the reasons for the upsurge in porn e-mails could be down to the fact that the months preceding June were unusually quiet in terms of spam.

"The spammers could have been spending time developing their messages and ramping up," said Mr Hockey.

Spammers appear to be purposefully increasing pornographic output during the summer months.

Last summer, there was also a peak for porn in the month of June, and January of this year also saw an increase.

"The trend seems to be for it to peak every six months but as to why, this just seems to be down to the randomness that is spam," said Mr Hockey.

Targeting users

The amount of counterfeit Viagra being offered by spammers has prompted manufacturer Pfizer to launch a legal campaign against them.

Its own research found that a quarter of men believed that the pharmaceutical giant was responsible for sending Viagra spam.

More carefully targeted advertising is becoming a trend in the spam industry, which also tends to advertise products such as games in the lead up to Christmas.

Diets take centre stage in inboxes after the Christmas binge.

"Spammers do seem to know the time of year to target certain products," said Mr Hockey.

According to Clearswift's yearly review, despite its summer peak, porn spam is on the decline overall.

It accounts for around 5% of spam, compared to financial and healthcare spam which accounts for 39% and 31% respectively.

BBC News

People with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in mid Wales have to travel "too far" for treatment, claims a health expert.

Dr Colm O'Mahony said access to services in the region was "poor".

People in the area have to travel miles for treatment and wait up to three weeks to be seen, he added.

Officials say they have opened a clinic in Builth Wells and the Welsh Assembly Government said access to treatment was being looked at in a review.

Dr O'Mahony, a sexual diseases consultant at the Countess of Chester Hospital, explained that access to services for STIs across the UK was the "worst ever in the history of sexual illnesses."

"People in mid Wales have to travel huge distances and too far for treatment, although there is a clinic in Aberystwyth," he added.

"But if anyone in Wales, or the rest of the UK, phoned for an appointment they would, on average, be expected to wait at least two to three weeks for treatment."

The number of STIs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland rose by 4% last year.

Last month, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said cases of Chlamydia - the most common sexually transmitted infection - jumped by 9%.

Dr O'Mahony, former chairman of the Association for Genito-Urinary Medicine, said the infections and diseases were "at epidemic levels " in the UK.

"It tends to be those people aged between 16 and 22 who have just come back from an Ibiza-style holiday who suffer," he said.

"And it's more dangerous having unprotected sex abroad than it is in the UK."

Dr O'Mahony will speak about STIs at a major rural GPs' conference in Powys at Gregynog, near Newtown, which runs from 29 September to 1 October.

"A sexual strategy has been introduced in Wales and the rest of the UK, but it's been backed up with very little money," he added.

"It's had little or no impact on clinics and the amount of people they see which is enormous.

"The waiting times are ridiculously high, although the service people receive once they're seen is excellent."

Powys Local Health Board said it had recently opened a clinic dealing with sexual health at Builth Wells. There is another in neighbouring Ceredigion in Aberystwyth.

The Welsh Assembly Government said the figures for STIs in Wales were of concern.

"Over the last three years we have provided £1.7m for local sexual health initiatives which include sexual health outreach work, young peoples clinics and community education projects," said an assembly spokeswoman.

"We are also making condoms more accessible to those most vulnerable to STIs with eight schemes being funded across Wales.

Condoms

"A review of HIV and sexual health services has been carried out to see how sexual health services can be more accessible and how waiting times for clinics can be reduced.

"Access to STI diagnosis and treatment services for both rural and urban populations is being considered within the review."

Marc Jones, spokesman for Club 18-30, said young people were aware of the dangers of unprotected sex, and free condoms were distributed o holidaymakers in resorts.

"We work in partnership with the department of health's sex lottery campaign and pre, during and post holiday we're warning people about the dangers of unprotected sex," he said.

"From my experience, and I was a club rep for five years, young people are more aware now of sexually transmitted diseases and infections."

BBC News

A major investigation has revealed that there are at least 730 licensed premises in the capital selling sex.

The study also revealed that there are more than 8,000 women working as prostitutes in "off-street" venues.

Sex in the City: Mapping Commercial Sex across London is the result of a six-month investigation into off-street prostitution in the city.

The research was carried out by the Poppy Project, part of the London charity Eaves Housing.

The report's author Sandra Dickson said: "The off-street sex industry is largely ignored in most discussions of prostitution, yet the women working in it are also vulnerable to being exploited by violent and abusive pimps and traffickers.

"These places are on our local high streets, and they're not a bit of fun for the lads - they are places women are being controlled and hurt."

The investigation is the first research to provide a snapshot of off-street prostitution across all London boroughs.

BBC News

With the Olympics upon us and 17,000 athletes converging on Athens, they'll be glad to know sex the evening before a big match isn't likely to hinder a performance, and thrilled to find out it just might help.

Berti Vogts, the German football manager in 1994, banned his players from sex before games. Linford Christie, the British sprinter, agreed with the notion, saying a romp the night before a race made his legs feel like lead.

In the film Rocky, Mickey - the Italian Stallion's trainer - provided this perspective: "Women weaken legs."

But Casey Stengel, a noted sage of the baseball diamond and no stranger to the shenanigans of athletes, had a different view.

"Being with a woman all night never hurt no professional baseball player," Stengel, a former manager of both the New York Yankees and New York Mets, once said. "It's staying up all night looking for a woman that does him in."

With so many attractive, fit people coming together in Athens, the athlete's village at any Olympics can seem like one big singles club. Every two years, there are stories of how many condoms are distributed - and used - and this Olympiad is no exception.

In Athens, 130,000 condoms and 30,000 packets of lubricant are being made available to the athletes. In Sydney, athletes were given a stash of three condoms a day, but more were brought in when supplies ran low.

There are, no doubt, coaches and chefs de mission who will not view extra-curricular activities with Stengel's benign eye.

Go for the gold?

But according to scientific research, they probably shouldn't fret.

"The night before has no effect on strength or endurance or any of the physical abilities of the athletes," says physiology expert Dr Ian Shrirer, a former president of the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine. "A lot of people think it has to do with the psychological effects."

Most elite athletes need to be aggressive to compete at the top levels of their sport, Dr Shrirer says. But there is such a thing as being too aggressive, and that's where sex can make a positive difference.

"Think about that - that's the guy on the football team, who's always getting penalties. Or the guy in soccer who's getting red carded. That's not good for performance," he says.

"It's never been studied, how sex affects the psychological attitude the next day. But if it were true that it decreases aggressiveness, then you might expect it to be detrimental for those who aren't aggressive enough, but beneficial for those who are too aggressive."

And then there's Israeli physician Alexander Olshanietzky, who's all in favour of sex - for female athletes, at least.

Who's game?

"We believe that a woman gets better results in sports competition after orgasm," he said in 1996, before the Atlanta games. "Generally, it's true of high jumpers and runners. The more orgasms, the more chances of winning a medal.

"Coaches generally tell their athletes to abstain before competition. In the case of women, that's the wrong advice."

But Dr Olshanietzky warned male athletes off going for it the night before a competition, saying that while sex energises women, it just tuckers men out.

George Best, who once said, "I used to go missing a lot - Miss Canada, Miss United Kingdom, Miss Germany", disagrees. He would draw the line at having sex minutes before a match, but the night before? No problem.

"I certainly never found it had any effect on my performance," Best told the Observer. "Maybe best not the hour before, but the night before makes no odds."

By Jennifer Quinn
BBC News Online Magazine

BBC News

The difference between who is sexy and who is not may all be in their name. The most important factor is the type of vowel sound within a person's name, research by Massachusetts Institute of Technology suggested.

Men with a "front vowel" sound made at the front of the mouth, such as "a" in Matt, were most attractive to women.

Those with a "back vowel" sound, such as "aw" in Paul or George, were less sexy, New Scientist magazine said. In women, the situation is reversed.

Hot or not?

Men were more attracted to those with back vowel sounds in their names, such as Jordan, Rachel, or Kylie.

Women with front vowel sounds, such as Kate, Emma or Elizabeth were considered less attractive.

The study was carried out by linguist Amy Perfors, who posted photographs of men and women on the "Hot or Not?" website, which invites viewers to rate strangers' attractiveness.

Each photo was posted at different times, with different names, to see what difference this would make to their attractiveness ratings.

Sexy names?

• Edgar
• Christopher
• Martin
• Daniel
• Claudia
• Jade
• Rita
• Gloria

• Norman
• George
• Peter
• Tony
• Hannah
• Emily
• Nicole
• Cherie

Japanese designers have come up with what they claim is the perfect solution for the unattached woman - the boyfriend pillow.

IOL says the pillow is an ideal sleeping partner because it doesn't snore, hog the duvet - or sleep around.

Each model comes with two shirts in blue and pink, that can be washed and ironed by the dutiful 'girlfriend'.

And one model also works as an alarm, by shaking to alert the woman when it is time to get up.

A spokesman for the manufacturer said the pillow has been so successful they have had to draw up a waiting list of customers.

He said: "Women of all ages have been queueing round the block to take one home."

The 39 pound pillow is currently available only in Japan but may soon be exported.

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