Chinese salesman jailed for organising gay orgies

BEIJING - A Chinese salesman has been jailed for a year for organising

homosexual orgies through the Internet, Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

The 33-year-old man, surnamed Zou, set up a Web site in 2005 and advertised

sex parties for gays in Beijing, Xinhua said, quoting a local court.

It said Zou charged those who took part 30-50 yuan ($3.70-6.20) each for the

venue, pornographic videos and other "service items".

"Thanks to reporting from the masses, Zou was caught on the spot last

November and this 'licentious nest' was cracked," Xinhua said.

Chinese scholars estimate that there are as many as 30 million homosexuals in

the country, where discrimination remains strong despite increasing public

tolerance.

China, ruled by the puritanical Communist Party, also categorises group sex

in general as a crime, although lifestyles have become ever more diverse in the

three decades since China began its opening-up reforms.