Sixty-six Muslim schoolboys in Malaysia identified by teachers as effeminate have been sent to a special camp for counseling on masculine behavior

An education official said that the camp was meant to guide the boys back "to a proper path in life". Gay rights groups have criticized the measure, saying that it promotes homophobia in the Muslim-majority country where gay sex is still illegal. State officials say that, if left unchecked, the students - aged between 13 and 17 - could end up gay or transsexual. The state's education director, Razali Daud, said that although homosexuals and transvestites exist in Malaysia, the authorities want to limit their number. Gay sex is illegal in Malaysia and homosexuals say that they face discrimination from government policies such as a law that makes sodomy punishable by 20 years in prison.