Cosmopolitan magazine, A.K.A. the Bible, is always there for readers in need of guidance, sexual guidance that is. The magazine has put a new twist on the classic Kama Sutra to appeal to new age readers who likely don&t have the attention span for the original.

Other than the basic principal of sexual instruction, &The Cosmo Kama Sutra& bears no resemblance to its predecessor. The ancient Indian &Kama Sutra, & written by otherwise unknown Vatsyayana Mallanaga, carries the ancient Hindu principle that sexual pleasure is an art form and one of life&s highest callings, without which life is incomplete. Americans may have come a long way in embracing our sexuality, but we haven&t come that far.

&The Cosmo Kama Sutra: 77 mind-blowing sex positions& is not much more than the title infers, and is definitely not the cornerstone to successful living. Each set of pages includes an instructional description of the position, why &you&ll love it& and a full page illustration, along with clever titles such as &Randy Recliner,& &The Python,& and &The Ride of You Life.&

Any avid Cosmo reader will have seen many of the book&s positions before in previous issues of the magazine, making it questionable why anyone would shell out the $17.95 for the book. The book is meant to be a compilation along with some new tricks thrown in.

The question is, where are the tricks? Out of 77 positions, about 10 are memorable and out of the ordinary, one of which, &The Lusty Leg Lift,& requires a gymnast&s flexibility. Positions like the &Passion Propeller,& where the man is on top and makes a 360-degree turn while inside his partner, isn&t something the average couple throws into their sex life and is definitely worth a try. The &Erotic Accordion,& which puts the man in submission and interlocks your legs is another interesting move. The illustrations are great for the visual learners out there, although alternate angles to really see what&s going on could have been helpful.

The original &Kama Sutra,& written by man for man, has instructions ranging from interior design to seducing a virgin. Not a stone, or woman, is left unturned. Seducing other men&s wives and pleasing multiple women (including an illustration of a male pleasing five women with all of his limbs and his privates) are among the other chapters of the &Kama Sutra& that definitely aren&t included in the Cosmo revamp.

In some ways we&ve evolved past the ancient practices that are included in the original book. The guidelines of man and woman&s duties in society and marriage are far outdated. Vatsyayana&s requires women be educated solely in arts such as singing, dancing, writing, drawing, and adorning oneself along with being available for man&s pleasure. He also describes dealing with an unwilling virgin by having another persuade her with liquor. Neither rape nor adultery was outside the &Kama Sutra&s& boundaries and reading the &classic& book is upsetting and disturbing at times.

Cosmopolitan is not anywhere near as controversial. Many of their positions, to the disappointment of the reader, are nothing new. They shouldn&t have wasted time titling their positions and should have instead called them what they clearly are: woman on top lying flat, woman on top while moving hips, woman on top on her knees, woman on top on a chair, etc, etc.

Cosmo also included occasional magazine-style articles along with the positions and instructions. &The Sexiest Things to do After Sex,& a guide for him to your nipples, and &The Lube Lowdown& are some of the tips that Cosmo has bestowed upon readers to make their book seem more like, well, a book.

Some of Cosmo&s positions are available at their website Cosmopolitan.com, and the majority of them have been featured in the magazine&s monthly issues. Save the $18 and head down to your nearest adult store where you can find something that&ll really help your sex life or check out the classic &Kama Sutra& for the informative and historical value. Whatever you do, don&t waste your time on &The Cosmo Kama Sutra.&