Proving that even the oldest professional occupation in the world can get some equality in today's world, those in the world of prostitution and the like will be able to deduct taxes on items used in the sex industry.

Prostitutes, strippers, and lap dances can now claim tax deductions on condoms, lubricants, gels and other items, according to a fact sheet issued on the Australian Taxation Office's official Web site.

An unusual tax workshop is being held at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center until the mid-April tax filing deadline where prostitutes gain help from the workers on hand to explain things like the earned-income-tax credit.

The event was organized by a group called Prostitutes of New York, a support and advocacy group, and by a sex industry magazine called Spread. Prostitutes of New York advocate the legalization of prostitution and meets clandestinely to avoid the police and pimps.

Strippers in Australia won a court case that now gives them the right to take time off after taking their clothes off.

The country's Industrial Relations Commission on Friday approved new legislation that affects workplace rules for members of the strippers' union, the Striptease Artists of Australia.

A criminal gang in India has adopted an unorthodox, yet effective, method to avoid arrest: having women strip naked to distract police.

The group is a timber mafia, dedicated to illegally chopping down trees in an eastern India forest in the Jharkhand state. The women are paid to strip in front of officers who are too embarrased, or too distracted, to hunt the criminals down, allowing more than enough time for escape.