Ananova:

A newly-developed microchip implanted into the body will allow two people to share each other's pain, movement and even sexual excitement, claims an expert in artificial intelligence.

The microchip could even see the "faked orgasm" banished from the bedroom and bring an end to the battle of the sexes, says its inventor Professor Kevin Warwick.

The £250,000 microchip, the size of an After Eight mint, is to be tested by Prof Warwick, a professor of cybernetics at Reading University, Berks, and his wife Irena over a two-week period.

Designed as a body implant, the chip will transmit signals from the nervous system of one person to that of another via an incision in the arm, enabling them to feel what the other is feeling. A transmitter is connected to nerves in the centre of the arm and the chips are then linked via an ordinary computer.

Prof Warwick says his experiment is being conducted to gauge the different perception of the sexes, including sexual excitement, which could change the way men and women communicate in the future.

"The nervous system is full of electronic signals emanating from the brain, which have physical effects, like the way Irena jumps when she sees a spider," he said. "The implication could be never faking an orgasm again."

The microchips will enable the linked couple to experience each other's excitement, pain and movement and eventually could lead to them moving each other's limbs.

Prof Warwick says however that they will not be able to access the other's sense of sight, smell or taste, and that they would not be able to read each other's mind.

Besides the possible benefits for couples, Prof Warwick has also evaluated the possible damage that could be caused by the pioneering experiment.

"The biggest problem, apart from possible nerve damage and loss of feeling or movement, is mental," he said. "Will my brain be able to cope? The biggest risk is that I could go crazy."