By Annabelle Liang

SOCIAL-SCIENCE graduate Amber (not her real name), 23, tells her family she is in sales, but works as a social escort.

She felt that making money from working in her family business was "too slow", and chanced upon a recruitment advertisement by social-escort firm Velvet 6 Management while searching for a better job.

She said: "I didn't hesitate at all. I read that lots of money can be made in a short time. I had many things I wanted to buy and do, so it became a good source of income."

Amber has been dolling herself up with make-up and donning mini-dresses to meet clients "practically every day" in the last eight months.

Some have taken her to business dinners, but she has mostly been hired by those who "simply want company in the comfort of a room with a bed".

Sex is definitely part of it, though it is not promoted openly and she does not charge extra for it, she said.

Although agents take 30 to 40 per cent of her earnings, Amber still earns about $10,000 a month, and has made $12,000 in a good month.

Clients rarely buy her gifts, but a British client once gave her a Swarovski necklace and matching ear studs.

She became quiet when asked about friends in the industry.

She prefers not to get to know other women in the line lest they happen to know her and she constantly fears meeting clients who recognise her, she said.

But, despite this and the health risks, Amber plans to be in the job until she is well into her 30s, because she has a high sex drive and likes to "please clients and make money".

So, are escorts any different from prostitutes?

Her reply: "Nah, no difference. Prostitute, whore, courtesan, escort - they all have the same meaning."

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	High tech social escorts (Sex goes online Pt 2) Find out how a social escort utilises online tools to market herself, and what she thinks of the rising trend of online prostitution.
	"We are not prostitutes!" (Sex goes online Pt 3) Is there any difference between a social escort and a prostitute?
	A day in the life of a social escort (Sex goes online Pt 4) Giselle, 22, is a social escort who is doing what she does to put herself through university despite her claiming she comes from an upper middle class family.
	Being a social escort changed me (Sex goes online Pt 5) She no longer sees men like she used to. Is she any more judgemental than the rest of us, or is she just more honest?
	"My friends find sex online" (Sex goes online Pt 6) RazorTV hit the streets to find out what Singaporeans thought of the trend of sex services going online.

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