A recent survey of some 350 high school students revealed that most Thai boys had their first sexual intercourse at an earlier age of 14, the local press reported on Monday.

Compared with a similar survey conducted some six years ago, the boys had their first sex two years earlier than before, the Public Health Ministry spokeswoman Nittaya Chanruang told reporters on Sunday.

She said 49 percent of the 17-year-old boys surveyed had sex the first time with girls they knew well.

"Teenagers are choosing to have sex with people they are familiar with, and because they trust them they don't use condoms, " Nittaya was quoted by Bangkok Post as saying.

According to the survey, 76 percent of these kids didn't use condoms.

"That is a big worry," Nittaya said, adding that the ministry would use the finding of the survey in their campaign for use of condoms among young people.

With 98 percent of the sex industry having used condoms, the ministry now switched their focus to young people.

Only one third of young unmarried couples who had casual sex were thought to use condoms, said the ministry earlier.

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