The Italian government was ordered to pay 100,000 euros ($A165,000) to a gay man who received a driver's licence for the disabled after he declared his sexual orientation on an official form, the man and a gay-rights group said today.

Danilo Giuffrida, 27, said he told officials about his homosexuality when he took a physical after being called up in 2000 for Italy's mandatory year of military service, which has since been abolished. Giuffrida told AP from his hometown, Catania, he had hoped to avoid service and keep working to help support his family.

Giuffrida was disqualified for psychological reasons.