After several criticizing reports, the federal government revises its Website containing information for parents about educating their children about sex.

In its first month, the site received about 5 million hits. Recently, the section on sexual orientation was changed to address some of the concerns voiced by the gay rights community.

For example, gay rights activisits felt use of the term "alternative lifestyle" insinuated the Bush administration's belief that sexual orientation was a choice. Government officials replaced the term with "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lifestyle."

In addition, the portion telling parents of gay children to consider seeing a family therapist who shares their values was changed to say "counselors and other health professionals may be helpful to both teens and parents when addressing difficult issues."

"While the section could certainly still be strengthened, we are immensely grateful for the fact that some of the changes are marked improvements to the old text," Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, wrote in a letter he sent Wednesday to Michael Leavitt, secretary of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Alma Golden, deputy assistant secretary for population affairs at HHS, said the plan all along was to review, update and expand the Web site as new information became available.

According to Golden, focus groups helped the department develop the Web site, which stresses abstinence, and that some of the concerns surprised her because they did not set off alarm bells in the focus groups.

Another organization that had criticized the Web site, the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, described the changes as minimal. The advocacy group said it has yet to hear back from the department about the issues it raised.

"We're thankful for the change, but it's just a Band-Aid," said Bill Smith, vice president for public policy at SIECUS, calling for a broader review of the entire Web site.