Evangelical group to preach value of virginity

LONDON, May 24: To inculcate the value of virginity and celibacy until marriage -- among the youth -- a six-week course has been devised by an Evangelical group to give Christian students the moral strength to fight sexual pressure.

Recently a survey stated that children as young as 12, under pressure to indulge in sex, are turning to alcohol to help them get through losing virginity. The course called Pure will be launched nationwide in the autumn after being piloted in 15 campuses. It will be run by the Evangelical University and College Christian Fellowship and will offer 65-minute sessions led by students in the hope of spreading the gospel of sexual abstinence before marriage.

The fellowship expects thousands of students to flock to the course, where they will be taught to ward off "evil thoughts" in the current culture of promiscuity. The course, believed to be the first of its kind, is somewhat like the Silver Ring Thing, an American scheme, in which teenagers are persuaded to wear a silver ring to show that they intend to remain celibate until they marry.

The director of the fellowship, Rev Richard Cunningham said that Pure was conceived when a Christian Union leader approached them saying was dismayed at the number of people going out with non-Christians.

Are you a virgin? Here's a deal

BERLIN, May 9: A brothel has become the first in Berlin to offer special deals for virgins with prostitutes trained in the delicate art of catering for customers who have never had sex, a German newspaper reported on Friday.

The brothel in the red light area of the Kreuzberg district of the city charges 60 euros for a half an hour of sex and works within the laws of Germany where prostitution is legal. "These are men who either never had sex before or have never been in a brothel before," the brothel's operator was quoted as saying in Berlin's B.Z. tabloid.

"It's the first house of love in Berlin that specializes in taking care of beginners," wrote the daily on its front page. Prostitutes are given "sensitivity training" for first-time clients, who the brothel operator said are not necessarily young but often 40 or older: "They need to be aware of how much courage it takes to go to a brothel the first time."

Katie Holmes is now 'mature' Kate

Hollywood actress Katie Holmes has dropped her 'girlish' name Katie in favour of a more 'mature' name Kate. The actor decided to alter her name after discussing it with fiancé Tom Cruise and concluded that Holmes would henceforth be known as Kate instead.

"Katie is a young girl's name," Contactmusic quoted Cruise, as saying."Her name is Kate now she's a child-bearing woman," he added. Holmes also converted to Scientology. and followed the Scientology friendly silent birth while giving birth to Suri and is determined to bring her up in the controversial religion.

Tania Zaetta sets ramp on fire

NEW DELHI: Hot Aussie beauty Tania Zaetta got many sweating at Neeta Bharagava's India Fashion Week show. With just a skimpy bikini beneath, the model was painted with gold and bronze from top to bottom. As Tania prowled like a cat on the ramp, the hottie had media drooling all over her after the show got over.

"I just enjoyed the experience. It took five hours to get my body painted with these colours and four people were occupied in doing the same. The feeling itself is so sexy and the concept was so unique that I wouldn't mind flaunting my booty again," quips Tania.

The sultry siren just about managed to rush into the restricted area, before she could get mobbed. The Autralian beauty shot to fame with an AXN show. She also has few Bollywood films (Bunty aur Babli and Salaam Namaste) to her credit.

India Fashion Week on target: Rathi Vinay Jha

NEW DELHI, April 4: Rathi Vinay Jha, often dubbed a one-woman army who has raised the India Fashion Week to a highly professional level, can't help smiling - the seventh edition of the event is heading for its Wednesday opening here like clockwork.

"Everything is going on schedule. We worked a lot on the planning and organisational aspects this time and this has helped us because the logistics are working out very well," said Jha, director general of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) that organises the event.

"We are keeping our fingers crossed because till it all happens, one should not speak. But I have a feeling we are going to be very much on time to take on the event. In fact, till the last event, we used to hand over the stalls to designers hardly 24 hours before the event. Last year, we were even more late," Jha said. This time it will be earlier, she said.

The event will be known as the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WLIFW) from this year with hospitality major ITC coming on board as the principal sponsor. One MSA (main show area - the runway and its attendant props) is coming up inside the huge ballroom of The Grand hotel where the event is being held.

Outside, another MSA is being replicated under a sprawling black marquee. This will enable the staging of eight fashion shows a day - a staggering 40 during the five-day event that runs till Sunday.

"Having the second ramp's been good because this gives us a little more breathing space. All this has led to a much bigger event and therefore, much more expenditure," Jha stated, citing a confidentiality clause against naming a figure. Opposite the MSA marquee is another of equal size that will function as the trade area.

"We are evolving. And each year, we are learning by whatever did not happen the previous year. I think we've learnt out lessons, the experience has been fantastic. Therefore, we are more prepared," said a confident Jha. "I must say every designer has complimented us on the arrangements this time. Everyone seems to be very happy," she added.

The twin runways apart, WLIFW will also see other significant changes. "Our guidelines have gone beyond designers this time to choreographers as also the other talent teams," Jha said. "The designer docket is what we give every year to designers covering all the dos and the don'ts, what to expect and what not to expect and if they want to do anything more than what is in the guidelines, how they should approach us and ask us."

For example, she said, "a lot of designers want to have fancy props. Most understandable, but very often, we have to say no. For example, last year, someone wanted to have candles and we had to say no because of the safety requirements. Now, very often, we look at what is happening, what they want and we try to see whether they can do it in the time limit we are giving them," Jha explained.

J.Lo shares her beauty secrets

WASHINGTON: Disclosing the secret of her gorgeous looks, actress-singer Jennifer Lopez has surely given all women in their mid-thirties some hope on how to stay young and beautiful for their husbands.

The superstar has revealed that her beauty regime is basic and she rates rest as the main reason she still looks fantastic at 36. Since this comes without any pennies spent on luxurious spas, and other beauty enhancing treatments, women would most likely follow the star's beauty tips.

"Sleep is my weapon. I try to get eight hours a night. I think what works best is sleep, water - and a good cleanser," Contactmusic quoted her, as saying. Meanwhile, the actress also hasn't ruled out the possibility of going under the surgeon's knife in future, when her beauty starts to fade. "I don't really see myself having any. But I'm not at that point yet, so I don't know," she said.

Woo your lady with sex!

NEW YORK: Gone are the times when women became starry eyed if their lovers gifted them flowers, emotional cards or chocolates on Valentine's Day. A new poll suggests that ladies today prefer to move straight to the bedroom and forego all the nuances of a mushy courtship.

More than 52 per cent of American women said they wanted to have sex on the most romantic day of the year, according to a survey sponsored by a condom company. While 45 per cent were looking for a greeting card, 41 per cent were hoping for flowers and a surprisingly low 30 per cent counting on chocolates. Only 27 per cent of women were angling for jewellery and one in 10 held out for sexy lingerie, reports the New York Daily News.

The craving for some Valentine's Day action was highest among younger women, with 76 per cent of those 18 to 34 saying they wanted sex, compared with just 24 per cent of those older than 55, according to the poll, paid for by LifeStyles condoms.

Payal Rohatgi and Virendra Sehwag together

NEW DELHI: The unusual pairing of Payal Rohatgi and Virendra Sehwag will be seen onscreen soon. The duo recently shot for an ad for Dabur's Lal Dantmanjan. It has been directed by Pradeep Sarkar of Parineeta fame.

Payal will shed her glam girl image for the ad and will be seen in a whole new avatar of a village belle. In the ad, Sehwag goes to a mela and sees Payal chewing sugarcane with her teeth. Her teeth are strong as a result of using Dabur's Lal Dantmanjan.

Sarkar feels that the on screen chemistry between Payal and Sehwag is great. Talking about her experience, Payal thought that Sehwag was a thorough gentleman.

Sex.com website sells for whopping $12 m

San Francisco: In one of the biggest sales of a website name, sex.com has changed hands for $12 million, its new owners say.

The group of Boston-based investors Tuesday said they plan to use the instantly recognisable name to create 'a market-leading adult entertainment destination by offering compelling, next-generation web interaction experiences'.

The site was owned by a web entrepreneur who also founded the online dating site match.com. The deal is the highest price ever paid for an Internet domain name, easily beating the previous high of $7.5 million paid for the domain name business.com in 1999.

Now, operate your iPod from jeans pocket

LOS ANGELES: Call it the 21st Century watch pocket. Denim giant Levi Strauss said on Tuesday it had designed jeans compatible with the iPod music player, featuring a joystick in the watch pocket to operate the device.

The Levi's RedWire DLX Jeans for men and women, which will be available this fall, also have a built-in docking cradle for the iPod and retractable headphones. Pricing was not immediately available.

Apple Computer Inc's iPod is the No. 1 digital music player. The company on Tuesday attributed a 63% jump in holiday quarter sales in part to the iPod's popularity and said 42 million of the devices have been sold to date.

Levi's is not the first company to feature iPod-friendly apparel, although it may be the first to make iPod-compatible jeans. Haute couture fashion houses began featuring pricey iPod carrying cases after the device's 2001 launch, while outdoor company Burton Snowboards unveiled what it called the first iPod-compatible waterproof snowboarding jacket in 2003. Last fall, Kenpo launched men's jackets selling at Macy's featuring iPod controls on the sleeve.