Despite mincing his way through 25 X-Factor episodes the 18 year old Geordie star says he fancies 'Kylie' (ahem) but doesn't have time for girls at the moment (double ahem).

Who cares? We love him anyway and our arms are open should he suddenly bust out of a closet. In fact we could do a lot worse than having a squeaky clean gay role model for a change - that duet with Georgina Michael was a tad cringifying it must be said!

According to The Mirror the X-Factor star has suffered homophobic bullying since an early age (and there's one thing for sure: kids just always know - ok ok we'll let up! Call it wishful thinking!).

Former girl friend Carly Dilbert, now a bar maid in McElderry's home town of South Shields, said "Joe was brought up by his mum, his nan and his auntie and all his friends were girls. I suppose it made him a bit more effeminate and sensitive than most guys. People thought he was gay, but we knew the truth."

Currently battling it out with Rage Against The Machine for the Xmas No.1 McElderry brushed off the gossip with a smile "I'm straight. I've had girlfriends, but I don't have one right now. I haven't slept with anyone, but I'm a young lad and I'm concentrating on my music.

"I know I'll probably get offers but - for me - it's all about the singing for now."

Ahem!

Two successive Prime Ministers have strongly opposed reforming Australian marriage laws to allow gay and lesbians to wed. The current leader Kevin Rudd intervened earlier this year in his party's internal push to modify policy on gay unions and gay marriage instructing there to be no change.

However, it seems a ground swell of support is pushing the country towards allowing gays and lesbians the right to tie the knot.

A survey carried out by Australian Marriage Equality found that 60% of Australians would support same-sex marriage, with 36% opposed and 4% undecided. It also found that 58% would support the recognition of same-sex marriages formed in other countries within Australian law.

Earlier this week the country's first legally recognized gay civil ceremony took place in Canberra after a bill sponsored by the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Greens Party was approved. Many expected the federal government to overturn the new legislation as it has done similarly on three previous occasions, but so far the new law remains in place.

Leading Australian newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald also earlier this week ran an editorial headlined 'Whatever the Gender, All Marriages Should Be Equal' in full support of lesbian and gay unions.

"It is time to end legal discrimination against gays and lesbians" the paper said 'Spain has done it. So have Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway and South Africa. All these nations have legalised same-sex marriage, without evident undermining of heterosexual marriage and the family relationships based upon it. And in Britain, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Germany and New Zealand, where the law allows same-sex civil unions or registered partnerships, there hasn't been any shredding of the social fabric, either. Yet Australia, which likes to see itself as a tolerant, pluralist society, has not been able to go as far as deeply Catholic Spain in removing remaining forms of institutionalised discrimination against gay and lesbian people."

In reference to the 1980's when AIDS devastated gay communities around the world Brown said: "Even in the midst of so much sorrow, those who had lost loved ones refused to accept the silence and the stigma and set up pioneering charities which are still saving and changing lives today."

It is estimated that more than 80,000 people are now living with HIV in the UK however the number could be far greater because most people with HIV, it is believed, remain undiagnosed.

"More than a quarter of people with HIV don't know they have the disease because they haven't been tested" he warns, adding that the government is committed to increasing HIV testing and tackling the stigma that persists.

During the two minute piece recorded for The National AIDS Trust website Brown also praises activists world-wide who have "refused to give up in the face of HIV and AIDS"

Deborah Jack, chief executive of NAT, said: "We are delighted that Gordon Brown has provided a message for our World AIDS Day website. We are especially pleased he has spoken about HIV in the UK in particular the need to increase HIV testing as well as fighting prejudice. He is right to say there is no room for complacency in tackling HIV.

We hope the concern and commitment the Prime Minister had expressed today will be remembered beyond World AIDS Day."

World AIDS day 2009 takes place on December 1st.

Nemat Safavi, Mehdi P and Moshen G are currently on death row and human rights campaigners warn that their executions are imminent.

Under Iranian law, 'Lavat' (homosexual activity between males) is "punishable by death so long as both the active and passive partners are mature, of sound mind, and have acted of free will".

It has been reported that all three men were under the age of 18 at the time of arrest.

Campaigners claim Mehdi P. and Moshen G. denied the charges, and that no witnesses have testified against them. Safavi was arrested at the age of 16 in 2006, and tried by a court in Ardebil, where he is being held.

Human Rights Watch has condemned the rulings and has called for Iran to revoke the sentences on the grounds that men were minors at the time.

"Killing people for what they did as children is wrong and repellent, and killing them for alleged homosexual conduct is just as wrong and repellent," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

Campaigners argue that the sentences are a gross violation of international law, which forbids, under any circumstance, the execution of juvenile offenders.

Iran leads the world in executing young offenders according to Human Rights Watch. In 2005 footage of two youths being hanged for homosexual crimes was posted on the internet and sparked media attention worldwide.

When questioned two years ago about gay youths being hunted down and executed in Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad responded that there were no gays in his country. A statement he later contradicted by accusing political rivals of "officially recognizing thieves, homosexuals and scumbags".

Its short run at Glasgay! - an arts festival which celebrates Scotland's gay, bi-sexual and transsexual culture - has upset Scottish Christians who have branded the depiction of Christ as a transsexual "totally blasphemous".

Brandishing placards saying "Jesus, king of kings, not queen of heaven" and "God: My son is not a pervert" around 300 protesters picketed on Tuesday outside the Tron theatre where the play is currently being staged.

Further condemnation from the Christian Institute and The Catholic Church prompted Glasgay! organizers to issue a statement.

"Jesus, Queen of Heaven is a literary work of fiction exploring the artist's own personal journey of faith as a transgendered person.

"Glasgay! supports the right to freedom of expression and offers audiences a diverse view of LGBT life. This work is not intended to incite or offend anyone of any belief system however we respect your right to disagree with that opinion."

In an interview with Herald Scotland Clifford defended her work saying prejudice has no foundation in the Bible, and revealed that she is in fact a regular churchgoer herself.

"Being transsexual, I think an awful lot about where prejudice comes from" she said.

"I would say about 95% of the play has the most profound respect of the gospel and the figure of Jesus. I really have no wish to offend anybody, which means that it is a big shame that everyone has taken great offence. That was genuinely not my intention."

Jesus, Queen of Heaven concludes tomorrow evening at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow.