ATHENS, GREECE: An Athens court on Tuesday (July 22nd) rejected a complaint by inhabitants of the Greek island of Lesbos who had wanted gay women to stop monopolising the term 'lesbian', a justice source said.

The court ruled that the term "lesbian" does not define status and personality and therefore the islanders had no reason to complain that they felt personally slighted by its use.

Three residents of the Aegean Sea island had filed a complaint in April, calling on the Greek Gay and Lesbian Community (OLKE), the country's main homosexual association, to drop the term.

The verdict is open to appeal.

Often referred to in Greece as Mytilene - the name of Lesbos' capital - the island was the home of the poet Sappho, who expressed her love of other women in lyric verses written in the early sixth century BC.

Many locals are rankled by the fact that the resort of Eressos is a popular tourist destination for lesbians.