A Facebook page is displayed on a computer screen in Brussels in this April 21, 2010 file photograph.THIERRY ROGE/Reuters
Sex education in a modern format - but inspired by the age of chivalry - was introduced Friday by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.
It's a Facebook game called Sex Quest, and is aimed at helping Canadians learn about healthy sexuality, contraception and sexually transmitted infections.
"Sex Quest is a trivia game about a topic that is anything but trivial. Sex can and should be a positive experience. So should learning about healthy sexuality," Dr. Amanda Black of Ottawa General Hospital said in a statement.
The interactive game allows users to work their way through the social ranks, from peasant to squire, knight, baron or baroness, duke or duchess and prince or princess by correctly answering trivia questions.
Black said young people need accurate information from a credible source in a format that they like, and the game provides them with that.
"Sexual health education in Canada is clearly not a priority," she said.
"There is a lack of consistency in terms of content to be covered and of teaching materials available to educate tweens, teens and young adults."
At the Canadian Paediatric Society annual meeting this month, pediatric resident Dr. Maya Kumar presented a study of 200 teens in southwestern Ontario that indicated some gaps in knowledge.
About 60 per cent of the teens who answered a questionnaire about their sexual knowledge couldn't identify Canada's age of sexual consent, which is 16, and almost 40 per cent over-estimated how effective male condoms are when they're used as a sole method of birth control.
Almost 40 per cent said the Internet is more useful than parents in providing information about sex, and almost one-quarter of respondents rated the Internet higher than their high school sexual education classes.