Reuters, 11/19/05 - No nudity. No whips and handcuffs. No penis rings. No inflatable sex dolls.

Those were just some of the sex toys barred from display as strait-laced Singapore opened its first sex exhibition under the watchful eyes of the police.

Instead the three-day Sexpo 2005 offered pole dancers, condoms, vibrators, sexy lingerie and sexual health seminars to titillate crowds and excite the libido of a country consistently ranked bottom in a global survey of sexually active nations.

Barred to anyone under 21, the exhibition is far from racy yet it is seen as a milestone for the tightly controlled city-state that bans pornography and has tight censorship laws that routinely snip nudity and sex scenes from movies.

"This is really tame for a sex exhibition. But this is Singapore, so I was not expecting a lot more," said Christopher Hedman, a 49-year-old marketing director.

Curious crowds, mostly male retirees in their 50s, converged on booths demonstrating use of a condom that comes complete with a vibrating ring. Many whipped out mobile phones to snap pictures as erotic dancers -- clad in midriff-baring tops, mini-skirts and three-inch-heels -- gyrated to pumping music.

Police and Singapore's media watchdog reminded organisers of rules restricting display of adult toys and warned them not to promote "objectionable sexual behaviours or lifestyle, such as sado-masochism, bestiality, homosexuality, paedophilia and promiscuity".

The organisers, who spent about a year obtaining police approval to stage the event, said the exhibition was not intended to mimic Australia's Sexpo, which has autograph sessions with porn stars, strip shows, bondage and love-making demonstrations.

Sexpo 2005 included exhibits from the Chinese Ancient Sex Culture Museum in Tongli, China.

Visitors peered at erotic paintings of love-making scenes, pored over scripts on sexuality in ancient China and gawked at a curious 5,000-year-old artefact called the "Donkey's Saddle" - a torture device used to punish adulterous women.

Director Kenny Goh said he planned to make Singapore's Sexpo a yearly affair and would try to push the boundaries gradually.

In an attempt to shake off its stuffy image and woo tourists, the city-state's authorities are gradually relaxing social controls, allowing bar-top dancing and recently lifting a ban on the sale of Cosmopolitan magazine and on the television series "Sex and the City", which had previously been deemed too racy.

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