The government of British Prime Minister Tony Blair has demanded that Britain's five Caribbean Dependent Territories legalize gay sex, reported BBC Radio 5 Live's Out This Week.

A Foreign Office spokesman told the program that the anti-gay laws in Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks & Caicos Islands place the United Kingdom at risk of being found in violation of its international human-rights agreements.

Anti-gay sentiment in the Cayman Islands was highlighted recently when the local government denied docking privileges to a cruise ship carrying 900 gay men. The tourism ministry said homosexuals could not be counted on "to uphold the standards of appropriate behavior expected of visitors to the Cayman Islands."

LONDON TOURIST BOARD TARGETS U.S. GAYS

The London Tourist Board is spending $98,000 to mail brochures to 50,000 U.S. gays promoting London as a gay travel destination.

The initial blitz targets homosexuals aged 30-50 in New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., with the come-on, "If you think South Beach is the only place for tea this winter, we suggest you try London."

"London is probably commercially the largest gay scene in Europe and the value of the gay tourism market to the city is estimated at nearly one billion pounds (US$1.63 billion)," said Tourist Board spokeswoman Helen Jones.

The board also launched a phoneline with information on bars, restaurants, plays and other gay goings-on.

36 PERCENT OF BRITISH CLUBGOERS ARE HAVING UNSAFE SEX

A new survey by Britain's Health Education Authority found that 36 percent of British gay men who go to gay bars are routinely having anal sex without a condom.

The HEA interviewed 300 men at 20 bars and clubs around the nation.

"The men interviewed for this survey are generally very knowledgeable about the methods of HIV infection and frequently have direct personal experience of the epidemic," researcher Adam Crosier told The Pink Paper. "Despite this, many men continue to put themselves and others at risk of HIV infection."