Stockholm- Several forms of sexual behaviour including cross-dressing and transvestism are to be removed from a list of medical "diagnoses" in Sweden, the National Board of Health and Welfare said Monday.

The agency has in recent years been approached by various organizations including the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU) that have been concerned over the classification system, which is used mainly to compile healthcare statistics.

Stockholm - Several forms of sexual behaviour including cross-dressing and transvestism are to be removed from a list of medical "diagnoses" in Sweden, the National Board of Health and Welfare said Monday.

The agency has in recent years been approached by various organizations including the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU) that have been concerned over the classification system, which is used mainly to compile healthcare statistics.

"We know that the classification codes are often regarded as diseases, regardless of what they mean," agency director general Lars- Erik Holm said in a statement.

Stockholm - The Swedish government has revised its economic outlook and does not rule out recession in one scenario, Finance Minister Anders Borg said Monday.

The two main scenarios suggest that growth will either be flat next year or, in the worst case, shrink 1.2 per cent.

"The global financial crisis is the worst since the depression (in the 1930s) and the Swedish financial markets have their worst crisis since the 1990s," Borg told reporters.

According to one of the finance ministry scenarios, the crisis will worsen with falling prices and export demand. In combination with the credit crunch, the Swedish economy will grow just 0.1 per cent in 2009, and 2.0 per cent in 2010.

Stockholm - The Swedish cabinet Thursday approved a plan to boost personnel and aid to Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said.

Sweden is to raise its some 400-strong force in northern Afghanistan to around 500 next year.

Along with forces from neighbouring Finland, the Swedish forces are based in Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Stockholm - Come Christmas Day, Swedes are more likely to receive a gift certificate for some kind of event or service than a book, electronic device or physical gift, reported a Swedish institute Thursday.

It was the first time the Swedish Research Institute of Trade listed a voucher for a service as the likely top-selling Christmas gift, said the group, which tracks retail and wholesale sales in Sweden.

"Giving an experience is a way to be together with someone," the institute said, noting that giving an experiences "truly reflects the times we live in, when consumers to a greater extent seek products that help them enrich their leisure time."

Stockholm - Swedish heavy-vehicle maker Volvo said Tuesday it planned to cut some 900 jobs in its Volvo Powertrain division, which makes engines and gearboxes.

The engines are used for Volvo's heavy-vehicles as well as construction machinery, Volvo spokesman Marten Wikforss told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa.

The Volvo Group has some 29,300 employees in Sweden. In addition to trucks and buses, the group also sells construction machinery and includes the divisions Volvo Aero and Volvo Penta.