Some residents on the Greek island of Lesvos say they are the only true Lesbians and they want gay groups to stop using the word.

Several residents have begun legal proceedings and pending a ruling have asked a court to ban the Gay and Lesbian Community of Greece from using the word lesbian in their title. Plaintiff Dimitris Lambrou says the dispute is over identity and not sexuality. "We must protect our identity, the name that defines our origin from being stolen", he told Reuters TV on Friday. "Our legal actions have nothing to do with the sexual orientation of our adversaries".

Lesvos, in the Aegean Sea just off the Turkish coast, is the birthplace of the 7th-century B.C. poet Sappho, whose love poems inspired the term lesbian for gay women.

The island has become a gathering spot for gay women from around the world, especially at Sappho's village of Eressos. Evangelia Vlami, who is representing the Gay and Lesbian Community of Greece, said: "We will be laughing in court". "This is ridiculous. The term has been accepted by society, by scientists, historically, and by the United Nations", she told Reuters by telephone.

The first hearing is set for June.