You could meet him at the city's swankiest pub, jiving in his torso-hugging, short-sleeved T-shirt and Levi's jeans. Or casually bump into him at a friend's party. Or be introduced to him at one of those numerous launches at 5-star hotels. He could be the polite boy-next-door. Young, anywhere between 15 and 25 years, he could even be the type you would take home to meet your parents. Except they certainly would not approve of his alternative calling: a teenage prostitute, toy boy, hustler. Or, in Mumbai street parlance, a call-boy.

OPEN SEASON: While most call boys are contacted on website chat rooms, some even advertise in local dailies. Meetings usually take place at public places (above).

Perhaps a more appropriate description would be "cyber stud", since cyberspace is where most of the city's call-boys ply their trade. Like 22-year-old Akram who trolls chat rooms from a cyber cafe near Andheri station to make assignations with women-single or married-and even men. He checks for responses to the message he posted earlier as "hunkyfunkydoc" on a sexboard on the Web. His message reads: "Satisfaction guaranteed for your wildest fantasies." He describes himself as a "hunk of the first order with great virility". And his success rate: about three a week. Never on weekends, though, because that is when he meets his girlfriend. "I am a healthy young man with a healthy sexual drive," Akram declares. "I am very normal."

Sort of. A college drop-out, Akram works in his uncle's construction company. In the evening, he hangs out with like-minded friends at cyber cafes, trying to get connected with Sugar Aunts (single professionals, married women with loads of money), Uncle Joes (gay men) and "Sab Kuchh Janata" (people looking for kinky sex). They have money and Akram and his ilk have the merchandise. The young urban hustler has arrived.

In its latest study on sexual behaviour in Mumbai, the Humsafar Trust, a male sexual health agency, corroborates this new trend of young boys indulging in sexual activities to maintain their cool lifestyles. In the random sampling survey, 6,000 males were interviewed of which 20 per cent youth (in the 14-30 age-group) admitted they hawked sex as just any other commodity to make money. The report indicates that 57 per cent of them reported bisexual behaviour and the average earning of 64 per cent was Rs 6,000 a month. These were mostly middle-class youth, still studying or fresh out of college. Says Humsafar Chairman Ashok Row Kavi: "The commodification of sex has reached a crescendo." Unlike professional gigolos, the call-boy brigade doesn't look at sex as a career option but treats it like another way of making easy money.

Broadly categorised as "survival sex" (using sex to survive economically), these youngsters not only earn money in return for sexual favours but also insist that they be taken to plush parties, elite clubs and upmarket hang-outs. For Kirit Patel, 19, survival sex not only earns him Rs 10,000-15,000 a month but also gives him an entry into high society. Rizwan, 21, a third-year college student, likes to accompany foreign business personnel to evening entertainment in plush places. "I can do anything to buy me a red sports Mercedes," he says.

LUST AND LUCRE: In a metro dazzled by money, there are plenty of young men (left and below) willing to go to any length to make an extra buck and have their share of fun

For these middle-class youth, the lure of earning around Rs 15,000 a month in return for sex is irresistible. Those with good looks, well-toned bodies and skills to make partners happy can earn more. In fact, sophisticated, well-groomed males who look like models and filmstars can make up to Rs 50,000 in an evening. Like Mike Fernandes, 26, who boasts that single women like his strong jaw and jutting cheekbones while married ones prefer his listening skills and languorous back rubs. For an all-night chat session with these lonely wives, Fernandes expects dinner at a 5-star restaurant and a small farewell gift-a palm pilot, a cell phone or even a monogrammed gold lighter. But if they want something more, he expects at least Rs 10,000 in cash.

While there are any number of young boys and men willing to trade sex for money, there is no dearth of clients either. Spouses seeking greater satisfaction, singles who don't want to wait until marriage, minority groups such as gays, lesbians and the MSM crowd-there has never been a better time for any of these categories to find action and fulfilment. Pradeep, 19, a college student, and Ashraf, 21, a film extra, claim to be have been picked up many times by married men with bisexual tendencies. In some cases, the clients just want something kinky, like the middle-aged hotelier from Jaipur who regularly comes to Mumbai along with his young wife. He visits to pub-hop and see his wife dance with young males. Pradeep and Ashraf get paid Rs 2,000 each per day to provide stimulating company to his wife.

And it's not just the men. Empowered by rising incomes, many city women see no reason not to taste the forbidden fruit or flash some eye candy on their arm at plush pubs and hotel club lounges. Hasina Chandiramani, a jewellery designer, is juggling two lovers at the moment, lavishing them with designer Italian suits, fancy Lebanese meals and portable MP3 players. She usually keeps them hooked with such tokens but occasionally she pays cash (Rs 1,000-10,000) for a night of pleasure. "I know my husband does the same thing when he's travelling on business," says Chandiramani in justification. "So why can't I?"

"Even a decade ago, women didn't have that much power," says Shalini Bharat, sociologist at the Department of Family Unit, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. "Today, they have money to buy everything, including sex. It's really no different being a man or a woman anymore in urban India." Unlike call-girls, there is less of a social stigma attached to call-boys and with Mumbai's social and consumer culture largely governed by the money flashed, there's no shortage of young men willing to add to their income. As Pradeep puts it: "Variety is the spice of life. But cash is always welcome."