STOCKHOLM -- An increasing number of women are signing up for military service in Sweden, but fewer than a third of those who submit applications are accepted, Swedish Military officials said.

Military service is compulsory among men in Sweden, but not women.

Of some 50,000 women who turned 18 and thereby became eligible to join the military last year, 1,292 applied for military service.

Of those, 836 were called in for trials and 376 were accepted.

In 2001, 271 women were accepted, up from 204 in 2000. An average of 17,000 young men are called for military service each year.

"It is positive that an increasing number of women want to do military service," national service adminstration spokeswoman Ann Elgemark told Swedish news agency TT.

She attributed the rising level of interest among women to the military's recent initiative to send out information about the armed forces to all 17-year-olds, both male and female.

There are however no plans to introduce compulsory military service for women in Sweden, she said.

One of Sweden's most famous young women, 25-year-old crown Princess Victoria, is at the head of the military trend.

The royal palace announced earlier this month that the future queen would enter the army for a three-week stint in boot camp in Almnaes, south of Stockholm, where Swedish troops undergo training ahead of international peacekeeping missions.

The training is part of the princess' specially-tailored education aimed at preparing her for her future role as regent. (AFP)