Oh, they always know how to have fun...

Only Sweet VIP girls could turn a night of blood and urine testing into a good time. But the place definitely had the feel of a party Thursday night when Cool Aid health nurses and two University of Victoria researchers showed up for "rapid HIV testing" on a dozen or so VIP workers.

The new kind of HIV test shows accurate results in seconds, just like a pregnancy test. That makes the medical community very happy, seeing as studies have shown that more than half of people who got the older style HIV tests never came back for the results.

The UVic researchers are looking into sex workers' responses to the rapid tests, and surveyed the VIP workers on their feelings about the test. Pretty good deal for the staff - everyone who did a survey got a $100 spa certificate!