A NORTH-EAST lecturer is to co-edit 'Porn Studies', the world's first academic journal to study this controversial subject.

'Porn Studies' is expected to be published by the Routledge publishing group early next year.

It will be co-edited by Sunderland University lecturer, Dr Clarissa Smith and Professor Feona Attwood of Middlesex University.

According to the publishers it will be "the first dedicated, international, peer-reviewed journal to critically explore those cultural products and services designated as pornographic and their cultural , economic, historical, institutional, legal and social contexts."

Pornography is a growing area of study within a range of academic fields .

This will be reflected in the interdisciplinary nature of 'Porn Studies', which will include research by scholars working in cultural studies, film, media and sociology.

It will also look at sex work and law and criminology.

Dr Smith, who is a reader in sexual cultures at Sunderland University, said pornography was worthy of study for many reasons, including its perceived threat to young people.

"The point of the journal is that it brings serious academic study together in a single space so there is a possibility of discussion across disciplinary boundaries," said Dr Smith.

She is currently involved in sifting through more than 5,000 responses to an online survey which invited users of pornography to comment on why they used such material.

A further study of young people and their responses to pornography is on-going.

Dr Smith said there was a lot of worry about young people being "desensitised" by some material but early responses to the survey suggested that young people were making "informed choices" about what they regarded as good or bad sex after watching different images.