Half of the 190 were infected through sexual intercourse and homosexual men formed the largest group that acquired the HIV virus through sexual intercourse, according to a report on the health of gay men, the first of its kind in China released on the same day.

The report used 526 homosexual men in Beijing as a representative sample. One third of the respondents said they were bisexual and 46 percent were highly educated and held jobs.

Zhang Beichuan, professor at the Qingdao University medical school and renowned AIDS treatment and prevention expert said among the 30 million homosexuals in China, two thirds of them are men, who are considered to be the most vulnerable group to transmission of the HIV virus. Among the 300,000 homosexual men in Beijing, three of every 100 male homosexual encounters transmit the virus, according to Zhang. But polls found that only 20 percent of homosexual men use condoms every time they have sex.

"It is like people addicted to smoking who know their habit causes cancer but still continue to smoke," said Wu Zunyou, director of the center. "Homosexual men are aware of the high risk but give in to temporary pleasure as a result they are reluctant to use condoms."

HIV virus transmission has gone through four stages in China. During the 1980s, the virus came from overseas and was confirmed within the nation. In 1989 there were outbreaks in some parts of China. During the mid-1990s, the virus was transmitted through blood transfusions. Now the most common ways people become infected are through sexual intercourse or intravenous drug use.

"There are three routes of infection through sex, through heterosexual couples where one infects the other, or their next generation, bisexual sex and homosexual sex," Wu said.

To cub the high infection through homosexual men, the central government would allocate special funds for AIDS control and prevention next year, including financial preference to anti-AIDS campaigns aimed at homosexual men. The Ministry of Health is planning to send AIDS prevention volunteers to homosexual men groups and forming a 'Five Year Plan' to fight AIDS in the gay community.