An Xbox video game is the latest victim of Singapore censors who have ruled a scene showing a woman and a female alien kissing is immoral. Microsoft's Mass Effect, to be launched globally on 20 November, is a futuristic space adventure. In one scene in the game the two female characters kiss and caress. The sequence ends with the alien character saying, "By the gods, that was incredible, commander." The city state's censor board issued cited "lesbian intimacy" for its ban on the sale of the game. Microsoft said it will respect the censors' decision. "Mass Effect features realistic content and interactions in the context of the science-fiction story line," Ian Tan, marketing communications manager for Southeast Asia told The Straits Times newspaper. "The game takes a mature approach to various relationships amongst characters throughout the game and the content in question is another dynamic of that." The ban is the latest in a series of restrictions on anything gay. Last month Parliament maintained the criminalization of sodomy between two people of the same-sex while repealing a similar law for opposite-sex sexual contact. Under the law anyone engaging in same-sex sodomy could face two years in prison, although police say no one has been charged in recent times. In August, Singapore banned gay events held in public parks.The move came as gays were attempting to celebrate LGBT pride. Brokeback Mountain also was banned in Singapore.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Friday, 16th November 2007 - 10:53am