Last month, in China, Ma Yaohai, a 53-year-old college lecturer and 21 more went on trial for 'group licentiousness'.

They were members of a modern swingers' club in China, where people met on the web and then assembled in houses or hotels for group sex parties entailing dozens of men and women.

The case has caught immense public attention with its titillating details. But apart from the extensive interest in the swinger lifestyle, the tumult also ignited an intense dispute regarding sexual freedom in a country, which is seeking to redesign its own modern ethics.

Whilst sexual liberty might seem like a fable in traditional Malaysia, it appears that the swingers' scenario is quite busy and booming here.

According to Zimbio, an American interactive online magazine, several people are "discreetly" carrying out their swinging business. The simplest way to register with one of these clubs, it says, is merely by looking out at ads posted on the web.

Amusingly, a Google search for "swinger Malaysia" returned over two and a half million hits.

According to the arranger of one the most famous swingers' club in Malaysia, majority of the people join swinging groups by request from other members or by disbursing monthly charges of RM150 ($64).