Singapore bans gay Web site for offensive content

Singapore's government banned a gay Web site and fined another after both were deemed to carry offensive content, a newspaper reported Friday. The Media Development Authority in July put one of the sites on a list of 100 that are banned, after officials received complaints that it promoted promiscuous homosexual behavior and recruited underage boys for sex and nude photography, The Straits Times reported.

The ban means that Web surfers in Singapore can no longer access the site, which is based overseas, the AP reports.

Most of the banned sites on the list contain pornographic material.

A local Web site called "Meet Gay Singapore Friends" obeyed a government warning to remove allegedly offensive content and was fined 5,000 Singapore dollars (US$2,960; Ђ2,440), the newspaper said.

Singapore bans gay sex, defining it as "an act of gross indecency" punishable by a maximum of two years in jail. There have been few prosecutions, however.

The Media Development Authority had no immediate comment on the report Friday.

T.E.