Russian 'lesbian' pop-outfit t.A.T.u., currently the biggest-selling group in eastern Europe, have launched their English-language debut, 200 Km/H in the Wrong Lane, last December in the US.

The name t.A.T.u. is a play on words from the feminine gender words meaning "that" and "of that".

In the video to their catchy single, All The Things She Said, Moscow teenagers Lena Katina, 17, and Julia Volkova, 18, touted "the most controversial chart act this year," kiss and cuddle while getting doused with water and dressed as schoolgirls, with the camera even peering up a skirt at one point.

While lesbians (not forgetting men who get titillated by 'lipstick lesbian' porn sites) around the world are predicted to lap it up, some critics have labelled the band as a marketing gimmick and the romance between the girls - manufactured.

Tatu's manager/creator, an former psychologist and advertising executive named Ivan Shapovalov, reportedly told Blender magazine earlier this year that his original ambition was to assemble a pop group that would address and exploit the lurid topic of "underage sex."

There you have it - underage lesbian sex. The girls have come under fire for their live shows, usually wearing only in panties and tiny tank tops and have also stripped each other's clothes off on stage. They have also appeared in Russia men's magazine Maksim, with Lena's nipples protruding from under her top and her finger in her pants.

---

While the true nature of the relationship between Katina and Volkova isn't known, Shapovalov has repeatedly denied claims that t.A.T.u.'s lesbian behaviour is just an act. He said in an interview with Finnish newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat: "It is only possible to surprise society with something that is genuine. I discovered something real in them that I could show."

Shapovalov, who is personally in charge of every aspect of the group's image - from what they wear to scripting interviews - also chose the girls, who knew each other before, from among 500 applicants. They were 14 years old at the time.

Although the band's management has readily released titillating details to the media � such as how the girls insist on a double bed in their hotel rooms � none of the group's representatives will affirm that the pair is a real-life lesbian couple, according to a MTV report.

Politics and salacious gimmicks aside, young lesbian fans will more than likely identify with the declaration of young lesbian love: "When they stop and stare don't worrying me/ 'Cause I'm feeling for her what she's feeling for me" the track, All The Things She Said and "I long for you to hold me like your boyfriend does" on Malchik Gay (Gay Boy).

And if anyone really cares about the music, the album is produced by Trevor Horn, who is famed for working with the Pet Shop Boys and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

Fans of The Smiths' who perennially feel desolate and suicidal may just cheer up after listening to t.A.T.u.'s rather cheerful remake of How Soon Is Now. Or maybe not.