The Australian navy is investigating claims that sailors competed to have sex with their female colleagues, with cash prizes for those who bedded the most women.

According to Channel Seven TV, sailors on board HMAS Success, the flagship of the naval fleet, detailed their contest in a book they called 'The Ledger' in which they placed a cash value on each woman's head.

Sleeping with a female officer or a lesbian won large amounts of money, and having sex in a strange place such as on top of a pool table also earned extra cash, the report said.

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard confirmed that an investigation into the affair was taking place and expressed concerns that the revelations could deter women from joining the military.

"Obviously this is a matter for our defence forces to deal with and to fully investigate," Ms Gillard told Channel Ten television today.

"As a nation ... we've been saying for a long period of time we want men and women to be able to join the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and to have good careers in it," she said.

"We don't want to see anything that precludes women from having a good career in our armed forces if that's what they choose to do with their lives."

The sex contest was allegedly discovered when the ship and its crew of 220 was visiting Singapore in May. The ship's commander Simon Brown ordered the sailors involved immediately to return home after he had formally interviewed them.

Navy chief Vice Admiral Russ Crane confirmed that four sailors from HMAS Success, the largest ship in the fleet, were ordered back to Australia and interviewed.

"Our navy people will not tolerate this type of behaviour," he said in a statement.

"Once these allegations were made known, the navy acted immediately by removing those sailors allegedly involved in the matter from the ship and referring the matter to the independent Australian Defence Force Investigative Service for action."

Vice Admiral Crane said the investigation into the allegations was still underway.

A Defence Department statement said: "During the equity and diversity health check a number of concerns were raised by female crew members. These concerns are now subject to formal inquiry."

Opposition defence, science and personnel spokesman Bob Baldwin said a higher standard of behaviour was expected from people serving in the Defence Force.

"It is totally out of order and demeaning to women in general,'' he said.

Women have been permitted to serve aboard Australian naval ships since 1983 but there have been a number of claims of sexual harassment and bullying.

In the two years to July 2007, there were 102 complaints of sexual offences or sexual harassment in the Navy, according to figures provided by the Defence Department to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper

In 2007, a female sailor revealed she had been groped by a senior officer and her mother had been raped while a naval medic 30 years earlier.

The previous year, a Defence investigation revealed a widespread failure to combat bullying, harassment or sexism. Amongst the investigation's findings was the revelation that naval trainees were forced to exercise in revealing singlets at the officer training school, HMAS Creswell.

In 1997 five women claimed they had put up with several years of sexual abuse and assault while serving in the Royal Australian Navy and that Navy authorities had failed appropriately to deal with the matter

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