London, April 6 (IANS): While educationists the world over debate the relevance and scope of sex education being part of the school curriculum, a leading sexologist in Denmark has called for pornography to be shown in the classroom.

According to professor Christian Graugaard of Aalborg University, it can help teenagers become "conscientious and critical consumers" who are able to tell the difference between pornography and the reality of sexual relationships, the Guardian reported.

"My proposal is to critically discuss pornography with eighth and ninth graders as part of a sensible didactic strategy, carried out by trained teachers," he was quoted as saying.

Sex education has been mandatory in Denmark since 1970 and pornography is already included in the curriculum in several Danish schools but not all.

Earlier, professor Graugaard told the Danish public broadcaster DR that showing porn in the classroom is preferable to sex education classes that were "boring and technical, where you roll a condom onto a cucumber".

"We know from research that a vast majority of teenagers have seen porn at an early age -- so it's not a question of introducing youngsters to porn," he noted.

Porn may actually offer a variety of both entertaining and educational properties.

"Porn can even be feminist and in some cases it can be part of a democratisation of sex and [it can] promote diversity. We want our kids to have exciting and gratifying sex lives, so an open-minded, constructive dialogue is the best way to make sure that they are able to make meaningful decisions for themselves," he told the Guardian.

Denmark was the first country in the world to lift the ban on pornography in 1967.