Iran starts first women-only Net cafe

Iran's first female-only Internet cafe has opened near Tehran aimed at creating an "appropriate atmosphere" for young women, a semi-official Iranian news agency said on Monday.

Under strict Islamic law introduced after Iran's 1979 revolution, men and women who are not related should not mix in public, even though this ban is often broken in practice, for example in several Internet cafes in the capital city.

Many young people in Iran are avid users of the Internet, some using chat rooms to socialize with the opposite sex.

"The atmosphere of most Internet cafes in the city is not appropriate for girls, therefore this Internet cafe has been started up in a complete female atmosphere," Mehr News Agency said.

Customers in the city of Karaj, west of Tehran, will have access to high-speed Internet and free computer lessons, the news agency said, adding that the cafe is operated under the supervision of a student organization.

Iranian officials say strict rules on sex segregation as well as the Islamic dress code for women are aimed at protecting them and are not restricting their rights.