Singapore will try to match success of Thailand's 'Full Moon' p

SINGAPORE -- A bar in this squeaky clean city-state hopes to match the success of the dance-'til-dawn "Full Moon" parties that attract thousands of revelers to Thailand's beaches each month, officials say.

The soon-to-be opened Bora Bora Beach Bar on Singapore's Sentosa Island will organize all-night parties which it hopes will increase the number of visitors to the island, says Corinna Cox, a spokeswoman for Sentosa Development Corp., the government agency that operates the resort island.

The festivals held each full moon on Thailand's Koh Samui island are notorious for heavy drug use, drinking, promiscuity and dancing until dawn. Travelers from around the world flock to the island's beaches for days before each party, giving a boost to the local economy.

However, compared with the Full Moon festival, the Singapore parties "won't be as raucous, I'm afraid," Cox says. The Sentosa party will be "wholesome and tame by Thai standards. But it's an opportunity for at least Singaporeans to let their hair down."

Drug use in Singapore carries stiff prison terms and traffickers face the death penalty.

The Singapore government is in the midst of refreshing Sentosa's image, which is known here more for its family oriented entertainment, like aquariums. The Bora Bora Beach Bar is supported by the Sentosa Development Corp., but will be operated privately.