Security aid uncovers naked truth

SUSAN HALLOWELL steps into a metal booth that fires X-rays at her, producing a black-and-white image that reveals enough to produce a blush.

To the eye, she is dressed in a dark skirt and blazer.

On the monitor, the director of America's Transportation Security Administration's security laboratory is naked, except for a gun and a bomb hidden under her outfit.

The US is considering using the technology at airport security checkpoints to detect plastic weapons or substances used in explosives.

Ms Hallowell is sacrificing her modesty to make a point: air travellers are not going to like being technologically undressed by security screeners. "It does basically make you look fat and naked but you see all this stuff," she said. The method is called "backscatter" because it scatters X-rays.

The agency is trying to find a way to modify the machines with an electronic fig leaf to fuzz out sensitive body parts.

Some volunteers were uncomfortable with it. For others "it was a whole lot nicer than having someone pat me down".

But the Electronic Privacy Information Centre thinks most people will object to the technology.