Chinese woman sparks net craze with virgin website

No, Sir Richard, it's not one of yours

A 38-year-old virgin has become the talk of the web in China this week after she set up a site devoted to her near four decades of abstinence - and urged the nation’s youth to join her in saying no to hanky-panky before marriage.

Shanghai Daily reported that singleton Tu Shiyou from Hubei Province set up the “virginity website” to teach the young’uns a thing or two about sexual morality.

The site features articles by Shiyou and others to educate – or indoctrinate, depending on how you look at it – others as to the benefits of staying celibate. The self-styled “Virgin Goddess” has even uploaded a medical certificate proving that she is still a fair maiden.

"I have set up the website because I am quite successful in keeping my virginity for the past 38 years," Tu told Shanghai Daily. "But many young people have failed to do so. I saw on the TV news or websites that some are living tragic lives because they don't treasure their virginity."

Tu caused quite a storm with her online antics when she publicised her site on popular micro-blogging site Sina Weibo. The virginity website is still down at the time of writing and over 3,000 people reportedly took part in an online poll on Weibo on the rights and wrongs of pre-marital sex.

Normally this kind of frisky talk on the web would be in danger of censorship by the authorities, but presumably in this instance the Party approves of the publicity given to a woman championing traditional conservative values.

According to the Shanghai Daily, the social stigma can be such that some teenaged Chinese girls resort to buying fake hymens in a bid to "restore" their virginity - at least cosmetically. ®