About 18.31 percent of Shanghai's population used condoms in 2004, twice the 1995 rate of 9.11 percent and three times the country's 5.3 percent average, according to recently released official statistics. The China Daily reported Friday that Shanghai offers more than 17,000 locations for free condoms, of which 1,185 are always open. The city has 571 automatic condom dispensers, and the Municipal Population and Family Planning Commission said that it has installed 330 additional dispensers in government and commercial venues since June. The commission is planning to promote HIV/AIDS and contraceptive awareness, hoping to reach 85 percent of city women ages 15-49 by 2006. In related news, China's Guangdong province will expand its STD control and prevention centers in response to its 106,037 STD cases last year, a 24.16 percent increase in the region's STD cases over 2003.

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