According to a report from the Straits Times, the Singapore censors have reversed the ban of Mass Effect, a Xbox 360 game, which is due to be launched later this month.

Last week, Singapore's Board of Film Censors (BFC) decided to ban Mass Effect over sex scenes between a woman and a female alien.  The incriminated scene depicts a human-alien couple in a brief love scene, which ends with the alien saying, "By the Gods that was incredible, Commander."

But they changed their mind after protests from gamers in the city-state. Mass Effect will be sold with an M-18 label, the first time a console or computer game has been issued a rating in the city-state.

In a statement Singapore's Board of Film Censors (BFC) said it would "selectively use games ratings to enable highly anticipated games to be launched in Singapore" before an official ratings system was due to take effect in January.

Homosexual acts are criminal in Singapore and rarely depicted in films or other works.

Mass Effect is an epic science-fiction action and role-playing game (RPG) experience created by BioWare and published by Microsoft Game Studios.

During the game players assume the role of an elite human Spectre agent, Commander Shepard, entrusted with keeping law and order in the galaxy. Shepard uncovers a threat so great it could destroy all life in the galaxy, but her job is complicated by the fact that no one will believe the word of a human, a race not fully trusted by the other alien races. However, the galaxy must be convinced of the grave threat at hand or all life could be exterminated.

Microsoft submitted Mass Effect last week to the MDA as part of a routine procedure to get the game distributed.

Singapore’s BFC has banned earlier this year God Of War II over nudity scenes and The Darkness because for excessive violence and offensive expletives.

Assassin's Creed was allowed on store shelves after the distributors agreed to sell it with an advisory label “Not to be sold to young children”.