Yunnan Province in southwest China will require residents to take HIV tests before marriage and will inform prospective spouses of the results starting next month.

The free test will target people in areas of the province where the AIDS situation is "grave," states a new regulation on AIDS prevention and control.

The areas listed as "grave" will be determined by local health authorities and identified later, the regulation says.

HIV carriers and AIDS patients will be asked to inform their spouses or sex partners of the results, or the local disease prevention authorities will do so.

The new regulation will take effect on January 1, 2007.

Yunnan, bordering Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar in the south and west and near the notorious "Golden Triangle," has China's worst HIV/AIDS figures.

HIV/AIDS cases have been found in 128 of the province's 129 counties, the Provincial Committee of AIDS Prevention and Control reported.

By the end of September, Yunnan recorded 47,314 people living with HIV/AIDS, about a quarter of the national total.

From January to September, 650 pre- and post-natal Yunnan women tested HIV positive, accounting for 0.25 percent of the total. Of the 66,000 people who registered for marriage and took the HIV test, 0.03 percent were positive.

"The figures are horrible, far higher than the national average," said Zhang Chang'an, director of the committee's office.