MONTEVIDEO, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) - Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez on Thursday signed a law that legalizes civil unions for homosexual couples, which is the first nationwide law of its kind in Latin America.

    Under the new law which is to take effect on Jan. 1, 2008, gay and straight couples will be eligible for civil unions after living together for five years and will have rights similar to those granted to married couples on such matters as inheritance, pensions and child custody.

    The bill was passed by the congress on Dec. 18, after heated debate.

    The law was proposed by the ruling Broad Front Party, who described it as a "democratizing" measure that will protect people's life options.

    But the opposition National Party opposed the bill, with the party's deputy chief Alvaro Alonso arguing that it "creates an institution that runs parallel to a marriage, competing with it even though it is second rate."

    Currently gay marriage remains illegal in Uruguay. In Latin America, civil unions between homosexuals are legally recognized in several places, including the Mexican capital Mexico City, the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, and Argentina's Buenos Aires, Villa Carlos Paz and Rio Negro.