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2 5% OF VIRGINS SHUN CONTRACEPTION

More than a quarter of people in the UK are still not using contraception when they lose their virginity, according to a global sex report.

The Face of Global Sex 2007 shows people across the world are now more likely than ever before to use contraception when they first have sex.

But figures in the report from the Durex Network reveal 26.2% of people in the UK are still choosing not to practice safe sex when they have intercourse for the first time.

The study also showed more than 10% (13.9%) of people in the UK were under the influence of either drugs or alcohol and 17.8% felt under pressure when they lost their virginity.

Greece topped the "safe sex" poll with 88% of virgins using contraception when they first have sex, followed by Poland with 86% and Thailand with 84.2%, compared to the UK on 73.8%.

The report is based on more than 26,000 responses to the 2007 Durex Global Sexual Wellbeing Survey which was conducted in 26 countries around the world last summer.

They revealed nearly three in 10 people globally are still not using contraception when they first have sex, although use of contraceptives has increased in the past 50 years.

People aged 65 and over are eight times less likely to have used any protection when they lost their virginity than 16 to 19-year-olds who do so today, it found.

Durex Network vice president Peter Roach said: "With 52 million unplanned pregnancies, 40 million HIV-positive people worldwide and 345 million new cases of STIs diagnosed each year globally, it is clear that we need to build on the fact three quarters of 16 to 19-year-olds are using condoms for first sex and encourage their continued use as they grow older.

The study found women were 25% more likely than men to take precautions but are more likely to feel pressured - with 27.5% saying they felt under pressure, compared to 15% of men. Almost half (42%) of women also regret their first sexual experience, compared to 32% of men.