China is relaxing taboos to conduct its first nationwide female sex survey, asking intimate questions about women's sex lives.

The 2004 China Female Sex Survey is being organized by the Chinese Institute of Sexology and the Chinese Medical Association via the popular Web site Sina.com.cn, Xinhua News Agency said Tuesday.

Women aged 21 and over can log on to the site to respond to 34 questions such as "how often do you have sex per month and how many times do you expect to have sex in a month?" Other questions include "do you get pleasure in sex?" and "have you ever had extramarital affairs?"

"The aim of the survey is to find out the status of Chinese women's sex life, analyze their sexual behavior and psychology and provide sexual knowledge and advice," Ma Xiaonian, a sexologist with the institute, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Ma conducted a smaller survey a decade ago and concluded that 50 percent of Chinese women did not experience orgasm during sex, it said.

In a separate survey, it was found that 91 percent of women said sex discrimination was present in the workplace, Xinhua said.

An online survey conducted by China91.com found that about 40 percent of more than 2,000 men and women surveyed believed that women had an inferior status in the workplace, it said.

"The most common type of discrimination listed was employers' interference in marriage, pregnancy and maternity leave for female employees," Xinhua said.

(Xinhua News  Agency  August 25, 2004)