And the girls managed to get banned by the BBC and Britain's ITV1 in the process.

In the video, Julia Volkova, 18, and Lena Katina, 17, wear school uniforms and passionately kiss and cuddle. British TV hosts Richard and Judy called it "pedophile porn."

The Canadian Press wire service said, "It's enough to make Britney Spears' much-talked-about midriff-baring schoolgirl outfit from the 'Baby One More Time' video look as saucy as bubblegum."

Asked by a Russian reporter if they are lovers, Volkova teased: "Maybe and maybe not. You know, we're not going to give a straight answer."

But Russian journalists told Britain's Sunday Mail on Feb. 9 that both of the girls have boyfriends.

"They've been hiding two boys from their fans," said reporter Svetlana Makunina from the newspaper Zhizn. "Their boyfriends are both students who are a little bit older than themselves. Nobody in Russia believes they are lesbians."

Kevin O'Flynn of the Moscow Times agreed.

"The members of t.A.T.u. are about as lesbian as I am," he said. "The story is a load of bull. There hasn't been too much of a fuss in Russia about t.A.T.u.'s claims to be lesbians. I don't think anybody believes it."

The Sunday Mail said Lena's boyfriend is named Seryozha and Julia's is named Vanya.

"The girls were snapped in [the] Moscow nightclub Cloud-B2 with their real male lovers," the paper said. "When questioned by Russian gossip writers, they insisted the guys were merely security men."

"t.A.T.u." is an acronym of the Russian words for "this girl loves that girl."

The International Lesbian & Gay Association is not amused.

"This is a blatant attempt by the Catholic Church to exclude Poland's LGBT community from the anti-discrimination protections enshrined in EU law, and from any future progress at the European level in recognizing same-sex partners," said ILGA-Europe Executive Director Ailsa Spindler.

ILGA-Europe board member Tatjana Greif of Slovenia added: "If Poland is successful, other accession countries may try to follow this example. We call upon the [European] Commission, members of the European Parliament, and member state governments to refuse any opt-out which would weaken the rights of Poland's LGBT Community."

Jaan has been mayor of Katni for four years.

Many Indian eunuchs are castrated males but some also are transsexuals or hermaphrodites. Jaan's sexual-biological history is unclear, reports said.

Indian eunuchs, who are widely ostracized, are best-known for singing and dancing at weddings and births. Recently, however, some have begun to enter politics.

Hospital pamphlets had prohibited donations by "persons with homosexual or bisexual, promiscuous or unstable-relationship habits."

Officials said that policy is "antiquated."

For the future, persons who have engaged in risky behaviors are asked to exclude themselves from donating, and all donated blood will be screened twice for HIV.

The 25-year-old blowout lost US$413,000 last year and the organization was liquidated. It was rescued by several community groups calling themselves New Mardi Gras and operating mostly within a volunteer, grass-roots framework.

The number of floats this year will drop to around 80 from last year's 180. The associated arts festival, which cost US$460,000 to produce last year, is being staged for US$3,000 this year.

Salaries, which last year topped US$600,000, have been limited to about US$41,000 this year. DJs will play for free at the massive post-parade party, which last year cost US$1.18 million to produce.

"There's a huge amount of resources, energy and creativity within the community and that's actually come to the fore this year," New Mardi Gras Co-chair Michael Woodhouse told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"We've had a large number of new people come up and say, 'I want to make Mardi Gras mine.' A lot of people value Mardi Gras immensely and they actually had a real scare when they realized it was all over."

"Berlin's Leather and Fetish Club is once again organizing 'Easter 2003 Berlin,' inviting local and international gay fetish enthusiasts to join in the fun at over 70 different events and celebrations scheduled to take place in the German Capital during the long weekend of April 17-21, 2003," the press release said.

It continued: "A highlight of the festivities will be the selection of the German Mr. Leather 2003, who will represent the German leather scene at the International Mr. Leather contest to be held in Chicago in May 2003."

Perhaps realizing that U.S. tourism officials are not in the habit of promoting gay fetishists, the author of the press release, Kirsten Schmidt, noted, "With a history of open-mindedness, non-conformity and tolerance, Berlin values its diverse population and has long been one of Europe's most exciting cities for gays and lesbians."

For more information, e-mail BerlinTourismPR@aol.com or visit http://www.berlin-tourism.de.