Albanians muscling in on Greek prostitutes

[The Beast Unleashed]

ATHENS, Greece (CNN) -- Prostitution, sometimes called the world's oldest trade, is booming in Greece, and a lot of prostitutes aren't happy about it.

Researchers from the University of Pandios say at least 10,000 prostitutes work the streets of Athens, a city whose seamier districts house 500 brothels and attract more than a million people a year for sex.

What bothers many Greek prostitutes is that they no longer dominate the business.

According to the study, Albanian prostitutes, many of them minors, have inundated the market, offering visits called "three-minute tingling thrills" for half of what Greek prostitutes charge. (And, researchers add, without practicing safe sex.)

"They're ruining our business," says a prostitute named Marilena. "We should chase them away."

Instead of chasing the newcomers away, Greek prostitutes are themselves on the run. They say tough Albanian pimps use terror and brutality to chase them away from their corners.