Up until 1996, the only way to get tested for HIV was to be tested under a doctor's supervision. However, in 1996 FDA approved the first home collection HIV testing systems. At this time, only one HIV home collection test system is approved by FDA and legally sold in the United States. This test system, sold as either "The Home Access HIV-1 Test System" or "The Home Access Express HIV-1 Test System" is manufactured by Home Access Health Corporation and allows blood samples to be taken at home, which people then send to a laboratory for testing. This test system may be purchased on the Internet.

Consumers should be aware that there are numerous HIV home testing systems that are marketed on the Internet, in newspapers and in magazines that are NOT FDA approved. These tests claim to detect antibodies to HIV in blood or saliva samples and provide results in the home in 15 minutes or less. The FDA has not approved these rapid HIV-1 home test kits for use and marketing in the United States. Some of these HIV home test kits falsely claim to be approved by the FDA or manufactured in an FDA approved/registered/licensed facility.

A recent survey of 2,000 Thai youths ages 15-22 found they want to learn sex education, especially about safe sex, from their parents and school. Among the youths, 72.5 percent said they wished to learn clear information about sex from parents and teachers; 76.5 percent desired school-based sex education; about 74 percent wanted parents to keep an open mind when talking about sex and relationships; 56 percent wanted teachers to explain condom use and sexual intercourse; almost 66 percent expressed interest in schools providing condoms; and 44.8 percent thought teenage sex was acceptable.

The ministry plans to spend 30 million baht (US $944,000) on its "Don't Be Shy" campaign to promote condom use among teenagers.

About one-third of adolescents in the east-African nation of Uganda reported using the Internet as a source of health information in a study published in the journal PLoS Medicine.

That rate is similar to the rate in the United States, according to researchers at the California-based Internet Solutions for Kids Inc.

However, an additional third of Ugandan adolescents studied said they could use the Internet for health information if it were available without charge.

Many in Uganda, a low-income country, lack access to basic amenities like running water and electricity. The cost of accessing the Internet at cafes or elsewhere places it out of reach for many of the country's adolescents.

There are advantages -- such as privacy -- to getting information about sexual health online, the study's authors point out, and in many rural settings health professionals are not available even if adolescents wish to consult with them.

Initiatives in Africa to improve online access for adolescents as well as develop content tailored for young people in specific settings could help make the Internet more useful in the fight against HIV, the study concludes.