Stockholm- Several forms of sexual behaviour including cross-dressing and transvestism are to be removed from a list of medical "diagnoses" in Sweden, the National Board of Health and Welfare said Monday.

The agency has in recent years been approached by various organizations including the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU) that have been concerned over the classification system, which is used mainly to compile healthcare statistics.

"We know that the classification codes are often regarded as diseases, regardless of what they mean," agency director general Lars-Erik Holm said in a statement.

"This is unfortunate, since it can contribute to maintaining and enhancing prejudices in society, which in turn increases the risk that individuals are socially stigmatized," Holm added.

Other forms of behaviour due to be dropped as of January 2009 include fetishism and sadomasochism.

Holm said the National Board of Health and Welfare would also raise the issue internationally, noting that the World Health Organization has started to revise its disease classification.

Swedish transvestite Claes Schmidt, also known as Sara Lind, in an interview with Stockholm daily Dagens Nyheter, welcomed the decision.

Schmidt, who is married and lives in the southern city of Malmo, has been open about being a transvestite since 2003 and often gives lectures on the topic, and on gender and equal rights. (dpa)