Posters and advertisements don't work as many of these men can't even read, said Mr Lionel Lee, executive director of Action for Aids (AFA).

To get its message across to this group of high-risk potential Aids victims, the AFA, which helps Aids patients, staged a ge-tai on Friday night in Chinatown.

Said Mr Lee: 'The getai is something these men can identify with.'

The song and dance performance also weaved in skits about safe sex. This is the second time the AFA mounted a getai. Its first getai last year drew about 2,000 to 3,000 people.

In Singapore, a growing number of people are diagnosed with the Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes Aids.

Last year, 423 residents here were diagnosed with HIV, the highest number in a year since the disease first surfaced here in 1985.