King Abdullah's royal decree finally comes into effect, banning male staff from selling female underwear. The new law only allowing women to work and sell in lingerie shops.

It's been an issue of awkwardness in the Islamic kingdom where women have been serviced by male staffs on buying of their "personal" stuffs and have felt particularly uncomfortable buying their lingerie from men.

Even though there is a growing tension between liberals and the religious conservatives in the country, the royal decree comes into effect. This is due to high increased of female campaigners, and pressure to change the system through social media such as  facebook.

Sheikh Abdel Aziz al-Sheikh of The kingdom's Grand Mufti, has warned shop owners that employing women is a "crime and prohibited by Islamic sharia law".

The new law could potentially create up to 40,000 jobs for ordinary Saudi women who have hitherto had little or no access to employment.

But it also means that male clerks, most of whom are foreign workers, will be out of a job.

The Ministry of Labour will be posting observers in shopping centres to make sure the new shop assistants do not get harassed in their first weeks of work.

The ban on male staff in lingerie departments is due to be extended to cosmetics shops from July.