"But honey, it's for a good cause!"

Many temporarily unrequited lovers could be hearing this plaint come Saturday.

Hundreds of Britons are being urged to attend what is being branded as Europe's first "Masturbate-a-thon", a leading reproductive healthcare charity said on Friday.

Marie Stopes International, which is hosting the event with HIV/AIDS charity the Terrence Higgins Trust, said it expected up to 200 people to attend the sponsored masturbation session in Clerkenwell, central London, on Saturday.

"It is a bit of a publicity stunt but we hope it will raise awareness," a Marie Stopes spokeswoman told Reuters.

I have to admire their nerve, but I wonder at the, um, logistics.

Participants, who have to be over 18, can bring any aids they need and can take part in four different rooms -- a comfort area, a mixed area, along with men and women only areas.

However, the rules on the event's Web site states there can be no touching of other participants nor are people allowed to fake orgasms.

How do they propose to regulate that? Sorry, guys, but in the end you can't really know for sure.

"The amount you raise will be determined by how many minutes you masturbate and/or how many orgasms you achieve," the Web site said....

...Similar events have been staged in San Francisco for the last six years raising $25,000 (13,000 pounds) for women's health initiatives and HIV prevention.

You know, if they just made this concept into a porn flick, they'd probably raise 100 times that.

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