Two Greek ferry crew members have been charged in connection with the rape of a 23-year-old British woman while sailing between the popular Aegean islands of Mykonos and Kos, their lawyer said on Tuesday.

The men, who have been sacked by their employer, have denied raping the passenger en route to Kos on Saturday.

"One of my clients has been charged with rape and the other as an accessory to rape," lawyer Mary Emilia told Reuters.

She said the men had been conditionally released, pending the trial. A trial date has yet to be set.

The woman went to the ship's captain immediately after the alleged crime, a police official told Reuters, adding that the men who had been charged were a steward and an assistant to the captain.

"They told the prosecutor the event did take place but there was consent by the tourist," the police official said.

The British Foreign Office has recently released figures which show that from April 2005 to March 2006 British tourists reported 48 rapes in Greece. Nearly 2.5 million Britons visited the country during this period.