BEIJING -- AIDS is no longer a taboo subject in China but few people -- less than one in three -- know how to protect themselves from the disease, according to a survey published on Monday in the ***** China Daily*****.

According to an AFP report, less than 30 percent of the 6,835 people questioned in cities and towns across China knew how to protect themselves from the HIV virus that causes AIDS, the survey found.

More than 93 percent of the residents of large cities and 82 percent of the residents of small towns have heard of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, but they were not clear on how it is transmitted or how to protect themselves.

Asked if condoms could protect people from AIDS, only 31.5 percent of city residents answered "yes" and 23.5 percent of residents of towns.

Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said they would help relatives who contracted AIDS.

But attitudes varied depending on how the virus was transmitted, with those who contracted it through a blood transfusion receiving greater understanding than those who contracted it through sexual contact.

The survey was conducted by the European future group and horizon research with the assistance of the European Union. The newspaper did not say when it was carried out.

The Chinese government acknowledged recently that a million Chinese had tested positive for the HIV virus or had full-blown AIDS and the figures are expected to rise in coming years.