Los Angles International Airport has introduced a new security scanner able to peer through clothes, as part of a security programme involving major US airports.
The millimetre wave imaging device scans passengers for weapons and explosives by using electromagnetic waves to create an image from energy reflected off the body.
The Transportation Security Administration says it will buy 30 more of the scanners, each costing around US$150,000.
However, civil rights activists have spoken out against the device, saying it amounts to a virtual strip-search, says The Seattle Times.
"I don't think people are really aware of just how accurate and detailed the images are of their naked body," says American Civil Liberties Union staff attorney Peter Bibring.
According to the newspaper, passengers will have the option to choose other screening measures, including pat-down searches.
The machines are already in use at airports in Britain, Spain, Japan, Australia, Mexico, Thailand and the Netherlands.
By staff writer
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