The Star daily's Sunday paper cited research from Google Trends as saying that Internet surfers in the city of Kota Baru in northeastern Kelantan and the town of Kuantan in neighbouring Pahang had the highest number of porn surfers.

It said the most popular searched words are Malay-language words --"bogel" (nudity), "gambar bogel" (nude pictures), "seks Melayu" (sex involving Malays) and "cerita seks" (sex stories).

Google Trends is an Internet application provider by leading online search engine Google which provides information on broad search patterns among surfers. It did not provide age groups of the surfers.

A psychology professor at the Malayan University, Jas Laile Suzana Jaafar said the development was a normal phenomenon, especially in Kelantan, which practised conservative policies on matters involving sexuality.

"If a teenager was the one who searched for it, it is normal because of puberty and he has to learn about sexuality to understand the changes they experience," Jas Laile said, according to the Star.

Jas Laile said in Kelantan, parents regarded the subject of sex as a taboo and were not forthcoming with information on the subject.

"If teenagers ask their parents or peers, how much information can they get?"

The fundamentalist Islamic party, PAS, that governs Kelantan imposes strict conservative Islamic rules in the sate, which often segregates men and women in society.

However PAS has recently lifted a 15-year ban on public concerts, and is considering allowing cinemas to operate, a move seen as part of its reform measures to tone down its hardline reputation and woo young voters.

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