For the sake of love no sacrifice is too much, at least for some college students in this city.

Losing one's virginity while dating is now acceptable, a survey found.

Sex before marriage has always been considered taboo¹ in China, but the survey by two Guangzhou universities discovered such an act is no longer frowned upon.

The survey interviewed 300 college students from four local universities including the two that conducted the survey, South China Normal University (SCNU) and South China Agricultural University.

The other two were Sun Yat-sen University and South China University of Technology.

The four are considered to be the top universities in Guangzhou, and the survey aimed to find out their students' openness toward sex, Li Jiangxue, director of SCNU's psychology² guidance center, told China Daily yesterday.

"I believe the results reflect the perception toward sex of today's students," Li said.

"We found that 40 percent of those interviewed did not mind losing their virginity before marriage, as long as it was for true love.

"About 50 percent said having sex with boyfriends or girlfriends was conducive³ to their relationship.

"We found that male students had a more open attitude toward sex and virginity than the female students."

Almost 70 percent of the male students agreed that having sex could accelerate the development of their relationships. However, only 30 percent the females agreed.

About 40 percent of the female students said having sex with boyfriends would add more psychological pressure to their lives. Only about 17 percent of the male students agreed with this opinion.

"That means the negative effects of premarital sex on females are more significant than males," Li said.

Xiang Siwei, a senior college student, said: "Having sex with my boyfriend is very natural as our relationship has grown deeply,"

"We are planning on getting married after graduation."

Li said it was difficult to define what was right or wrong with college students having sex and other people having sex while dating, "both are after all adults". The most important thing is they must have a correct attitude about sex and be responsible for their behavior.