Government's Tips For Prostitutes

Prostitutes in Brazil should be prepared to perform fantasies and seduce with affectionate nicknames, according government advice.

The Labour Ministry website issued tips for workers in the sex trade, which is legal in Brazil.

It also advised prostitutes they should be able to "demonstrate a capacity to communicate in a foreign language".

The ministry said it aimed to promote the human rights of prostitutes.

But critics said the site went too far, and its contents are due to be toned down.

A spokeswoman for the ministry said: "The information was created with the help of non-government organisations and the prostitutes themselves."

But she confirmed that the language and some of the explicit tips on the site would be re-written before the year is out.

The site, which started up in 2002, also gives prostitutes advice on how to negotiate condom use with customers, information on HIV and encourages women to denounce violence.

Opponents said the site encouraged prostitution.

Law professor Luiz Flavio Gomes told the O Globo newspaper: "What is on the site gives the impression of an apology for sexual exploitation."