George Michael and partner will seal relationship

Singer George Michael said Tuesday that he and his longtime partner plan to make their relationship official under new legislation offering gays many of the legal protections available to married couples.

The legislation creating civil partnerships becomes effective Dec. 21. Michael said he and Goss, who have been a couple for nearly ten years, planned a "small, private ceremony".

The Civil Partnerships Bill passed by Parliament last year gives same-sex couples the right to form legally binding partnerships and entitles them to some of the same tax and pension rights married couples have, AP reports.

A. A.