CarnalNation

According to research with sexually active people in four Nordic countries, engaging in group sex is the most popular fantasy for people from Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway. The Swedes in the study reported having the most sexual fantasies, with a total of 37 percent fantasizing about group sex. Other popular desires included having sex in public (most common among Norwegians) and having sex with a friend, which was more popular with the Danes.

The survey, conducted by the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education included 5,497 sexually active people between the ages of 15-74 who reported having sex at least once per week.

Despite strong sexual fantasies, the Swedish and the Finnish reported that they are less satisfied with their sex lives than the Norwegians and the Danes. A total of 28 percent of Swedes and Finns reported that they were "not at all" or "not really" happy with their sex lives. These lower self-reported sexual satisfaction rates were consistent across age groups for Swedish participants.

Though Swedish youth reported an increase in condom use and attitudes to safer sex, 65 percent of 15-20-years-old admitted that they had engaged in unprotected sex. The researchers also found that condoms are only used in an estimated 25 percent of sexual intercourse acts in Sweden and 40 percent of youth do not understand how HIV is transmitted. These alarming numbers prompted the National Council for Coordination of HIV Prevention to launch a condom campaign aimed at youth.

"Sex is for the most part a pleasurable and positive part of life. But condoms must become a matter of course with new and casual sexual encounters. The alternative is that you risk your health, and that of your partner," explain public health minister Maria Larsson and Christer G Wennerholm of the National Council for Coordination of HIV Prevention. "One case of HIV is one case too many regardless of who you have sex with. We have the knowledge, we now have to start to work with attitudes."