Packed with people late at night, it seems like any other bar in Beijing.

But unlike most nightspots in the capital stands a man in the middle, surrounded by PowerPoint presentations.

His topic is sex, condoms and AIDS.

Undergraduate students take homosexuality research class in Fudan University. Fudan is the first university on the Chinese mainland to offer such a class as an optional course among its undergraduates. Every class has attracted more than 100 students. [China Daily]

The speaker, Xiao Dong, is the founder and head of a volunteer team engaged in AIDS prevention among homosexual men. The team tours gay bars to offer advice.

Established in May last year, Xiao's team now has 43 members, most of whom are homosexuals, including a handful of gay prostitutes.

"Our mission is to spread the word on AIDS among gay men, a topic that has been hiding in the closet for a long time," said Xiao, 29.

"It is quite urgent that we give gay men the basics on how to prevent AIDS."

Homosexuality is not illegal in China, and it was deleted from the official list of mental disorders in 2001. However, the group is still plagued by discrimination and stigma that are born of ignorance.

Xiao said the gay community is at high risk for AIDS but had long been neglected by the government and the public, even as attention begins to focus on the spread of the disease in the country.

"Newspapers highlight the plight of needle-sharing drug users who contract HIV and hospital patients infected through blood transfusion," Xiao said. "But little has been said about the spread of AIDS among gay men."

"The taboo against talking about sex in general and homosexuality in particular in the country remains a block against getting information to those in need," said Xiao, a former journalist who quit his newspaper job early last year.

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