About 200 USA producers, most of them based in the San Fernando Valley, make thousands of adult movies a year. Many involve unprotected sex because they say on-screen condom use spoils the fantasy for viewers and results in lower sales - though condoms generally are used in gay adult movies. Others say shooting scenes with condoms take longer.

Anyway in Los Angeles an AIDS advocacy group filed complaints with state officials against 16 production companies that show unprotected sex in porn movies. County health officials sent letters to producers and directors in the porn industry, urging them to use condoms during sex scenes as part of a stepped-up effort to prevent a repeat of April's HIV outbreak, when four actors were identified as having HIV and the industry was temporarily shutdown.

By law, U.S. adult film actors must prove they have tested negative for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases within 30 days of going to work on a film. CalOSHA spokesman DeanFryer said: "The employers of porn actors are required to provide a safe and healthy work environment".

Nearly 60 adult DVDs accompany the complaints against Hustler Video, Maverick Entertainment, Vivid and other porn production companies in Los Angeles. Many people in the multibillion-dollar industry oppose the use of condoms in the films.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation president Michael Weinstein said: "AIDS could be spread through the on-camera behavior and noted that many people get their sex education from the movies. Watching unprotected sex could prompt them to be careless during sex acts".

In August, Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, issued a letter warning the industry to begin using condoms voluntarily or face possible future legislation that would mandate their use.

Industry leaders "can't ignore the fact that the issue is under the microscope of the government," said Sharon Mitchell, executive director of the Adult Industry foundation.

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