Ananova:

The prime minister of Italy has promised not to have sex until after the general election on April 9.

Multi-billionaire Silvio Berlusconi, 69, made the pledge at a party rally in Sardinia, reports the Daily Telegraph.

He was responding to a television preacher, Massimiliano Pusceddu, who thanked him for his commitment to family values and opposition to gay marriages.

Berlusconi replied: "I'll try not to let you down. I promise you two and a half months of complete sexual abstinence until April 9."

The pledge may have come as a surprise to his wife Veronica Lario, a former actress, who is rarely seen in public.

Despite criticism that he has failed to fulfil election pledges made in 2001, Mr Berlusconi has found time to record two CDs of love songs.