Washington, May 21 (AFP) The International Monetary Fund today rejected a New York Times report alleging that sexual harassment and extramarital affairs are rife in the corridors of the world body.

"This is not the Fund we know and work in," spokesman William Murray said in response to the Times front page story headlined "At IMF, Men on Prowl and Women on Guard."

The report comes after the then IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested on Saturday and charged with sexually assaulting a hotel chambermaid in his suite in a Manhattan hotel. He has denied all charges.

The respected daily described a culture of "alpha male economists" freely harassing female staffers and women who "avoid wearing skirts for fear of attracting unwanted attention."

It said the Fund was "an institution whose sexual norms and customs are markedly different from those of Washington, leaving its female employees vulnerable to harassment.