In China's first nationwide sex survey two years ago, 6,500 young people aged between 14 and 28 were interviewed. The survey showed that more than half of China's urban youth approved of pre-marital sex, while one-third approved of extra-marital relationships.

Another one-third believed that extra- marital affairs were wrong and should be punished. One in eight said they would prefer to remain celibate.

In a survey of college students around China, also carried out in 2000, 30 per cent of girls and 37 per cent of boys said they dated when in high school. Nine per cent of girls and 13 per cent of boys said they indulged in heavy petting at high school, while only 2 per cent of girls and 4.8 per cent of boys had had sexual intercourse at that stage.

A survey last year among university students in east China's Zhejiang Province showed that 13 per cent of students had had sex.