DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The British pair on trial for sex on the beach deny going all the way, but even a snuggle in the sand is going too far in this Persian Gulf city. Even though Dubai sells itself as a party hot spot, its Arab population hews to conservative Muslim values.

The clash of cultures between Dubai's Emiratis and the foreigners who flock here to work and play is coming to a head in the trial of Michelle Palmer and Vince Acors, Britons accused of having intercourse in public after meeting hours earlier at an all-you-can-drink champagne brunch.

The pair, both in their 30s, face up to two years in prison if convicted of engaging in sex outside marriage, public indecency and drunkenness.

A judge is expected to issue a verdict in the case Thursday – a decision that risks alienating Dubai's tourists or further upsetting Emiratis angry at the government's willingness to relax moral standards in the name of economic growth.

“These are testing times for Dubai, a sunshine state where everything always goes right,” said Christopher Davidson, a Dubai specialist and a lecturer at Britain's Durham University.

“They cannot let badly behaved Brits off scot free,” Davidson said. “But if they throw the book at them, what would that do to Dubai's tourism industry?”

Dubai has been described as the Las Vegas of the Middle East, with its carefully cultivated image as an oasis of liberal entertainment set amid an expanse of conservative countries like Saudi Arabia.

The Saudis ban alcohol and require even foreign women to wear enveloping black robes in public. In contrast, alcohol flows freely in Dubai's hotels and women can wear bikinis on the city's beaches.

But what most foreigners who come to Dubai don't know – and what the government is certainly not advertising – is that beneath the surface of the liberal facade is a legal culture based on Islamic laws and tribal rules that looks a lot more like Riyadh than Las Vegas.

While the laws are not always enforced, it is illegal for couples in Dubai to hold hands, hug or kiss in public – much less have sex on the beach.

“On affection in public, the law is clear and very strict,” said Khalifa al-Shaali, dean of the law faculty at the University of Ajman, in Dubai's neighboring emirate. “Sex in public is an illegal act and people coming here should know this.”

Palmer and Acors were arrested in early July after an unidentified resident reported them to the police for indecent behavior. After a night in jail, the couple was freed but banned from leaving the country until a court determined their fate.

Both defendants admitted they were drunk but denied having sex.

“They are innocent, and there's evidence to prove it,” the couple's lawyer, Hassan Matter, told The Associated Press. “If they wanted to have sex, they could have gone to a hotel or her apartment, not the beach.”

Palmer, who has worked in Dubai's publishing industry for several years, was fired from her job after her arrest. She has received more media attention than Acors, who was in the city on vacation when he met her.

Dubai's indigenous population has long been demanding that the government take action to preserve their religious values and small-town traditions. Emiratis account for only 15 percent to 20 percent of a population dominated by Asian migrant workers and increasingly Western ex-pats and tourists.

“They (Emiratis) are not anti anybody, but the situation is pushing people to become kind of angry,” said Ebtisam al-Kitbi, a native of Dubai who teaches political science at Emirates University in Al Ain.

Many Dubai natives feel they are not being heard by authorities and fear the city's culture is increasingly tipping in favor of foreigners, al-Kitbi said.

Some Emiratis have turned to radio call-in programs and Internet blogs to vent their frustration about how they no longer feel at home in their own country.

The government has stepped up efforts to respond to its citizens. A few days after Palmer and Acors were arrested, police detained dozens of people, mostly tourists, for topless sunbathing, nudity and other acts deemed indecent. It has tightened immigration rules, visa policies and work permits.

But Dubai's leaders also say they are plowing ahead with growth plans, undeterred by the global financial crisis. Those plans will keep the city on the Middle East's cultural front line as it attempts to balance liberal economic growth with conservative traditions.

“They talk about a clash of civilizations. You can find it here,” said al-Kitbi.