nstead of your traditional chocolates or flowers, New York City officials decided to celebrate this year's Valentine's Day by handing out free condoms to city residents.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose health department's condom program already distributes 1.5 million free condoms each month, hopes the city's special Valentine's Day efforts will help encourage people to engage in safe-sex practices during the holiday and beyond.

The condoms, which were distributed free at Fifth Avenue and 50th Street in midtown Manhattan, featured a unique subway theme, with different color wrappers for the various train lines.

In New York City, where some 100,000 of the 8.2 million residents are living with HIV or AIDS, health officials are hoping the Valentine's Day promotion will help encourage a safer-sex lifestyle and reduce the number of people who become infected with sexually transmitted diseases.

Speaking to the AP, Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said that the distinctive wrapper will provide the opportunity to include questions about the condom on the city's annual health survey.

"We ask, 'Did you use a condom the last time you had sex?' And once this is launched, the next time we ask that question, of those people who say yes, we'll say, 'What did the wrapper look like?'" Frieden said. "And if they describe our wrapper, then we'll know that they would have used our condom."