They have both been jailed for a year.

The Boulaq misdemeanour court has convicted Sherif Abu Bakr, from the Cairo engineering college, and Khaled Mohammed, from the science college, of indecent acts.

The two were charged with setting up a website offering gay sex for $22 per hour.

A security agent, posing as an interested gay, arranged a meeting with the students at a five-star hotel, where the two were arrested, the officials said.

Egyptian law does not explicitly refer to homosexuality, but a wide range of laws covering obscenity and public morality are punishable by jail terms. The debauchery offence carries a maximum prison sentence of three years.

Last month, an Egyptian court convicted 23 alleged homosexuals of debauchery and contempt of religion. They were arrested in May on a Nile boat restaurant.

Egyptian Accused of Sending Gay Sex Internet Ad

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_277688.html

April 30, 2001

A 19-year-old student has been arrested in Egypt for allegedly touting himself on the internet as a sex partner to rich Arabs.

Ahmed Ibrahim Abu el-Dahab was arrested in a Cairo cafe. He was expecting to meet a man who had responded to his internet ad.

The man turned out to be a vice police officer. Abu el-Dahab has been charged with committing an indecent act.

He is also accused of posting obscene photos of himself on his home page. If found guilty, he could face up to three years in jail.

Homosexuality is taboo in Egypt. Earlier this year, two Egyptian men were jailed after being convicted of indecent acts for using the internet to offer gay sex.