Germans mulling joining the army may think twice now thanks to a new regulation banning soldiers from having sex while in active service.

　　The Defense Ministry said on Friday it had issued a decree stating that sleeping with fellow soldiers of either sex, or indeed their partners, would be bad for morale, threatening "mutual trust and soldiers'' willingness to help each other."

　　The army originally laid out a series of proposals on how to behave with female colleagues when women were first allowed into active army service at the beginning of 2001. Now they have set them in stone.

　　Women soldiers will also have to take down their favorite pin-ups, as one clause, expressly formulated to include both men and women, prohibits them from hanging up pornographic images that might offend others.