THE number of homosexual couples who will take part in new "marriages" will be fewer than previously thought, it emerged yesterday.

Officials overestimated how many gay and lesbian people would enter into the controversial civil partnerships by up to a factor of ten.

Projections published last June said that up to 62,000 gay and lesbian people would undergo the formal procedure, giving them the same rights as married couples for the first time, by 2010.

Now estimates range from only 5,500 to 11,000 couples.

Officials at the Department of Trade and Industry originally said there would be up to 425,600 civil partnerships by 2050, but have reduced the figure to 42,550.

The changes came after data from Scandinavian countries that have introduced "gay marriages" showed take-up had been lower than previously thought.

Under proposals published in the Civil Partnership Bill yesterday, gay people will be able to sign an official document at a register office in front of the registrar and two witnesses, said Minister Jacqui Smith.

Registration will be available only to homosexuals and not as an alternative to heterosexual marriage, the paper said.

The partnerships will allow gay people to benefit from a dead partner's pension, grant next-of-kin rights in hospitals and exempt them from inheritance tax on a partner's home.

The Bill does not use the term "gay marriage", but the civil partnerships have been designed to be as close to a marriage contract as possible.

Partners will also be able to dissolve the agreement.