London - Britain's Foreign Office, strait-laced guardian of a global empire in Victorian times, embraced the 21st century by offering special advice to gay and lesbian travellers.
The government will spell out 10 "top tips" for travellers to avoid legal or cultural hostility towards same-sex relationships. Officials say it is a first of its kind by any foreign ministry,
The advice, due to be posted on the Foreign Office website (www.fco.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo), ranges from warnings about death penalties and police "entrapment campaigns" to the threat of thieves who prey specifically on gay neighbourhoods.
It also counsels gay, lesbian and bisexual tourists on whether to "out" themselves while abroad and suggests how transgender travellers, who have changed sex, can get replacement passports under their "new" identity. - Reuters