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5-Aug-2011 11:51 AM

Australia launches new body-scanner trails

Australia's Transport Minister Anthony Albanese announced the launch of a new airport body scanner trial at Sydney Airport, the country's busiest airport, with 500 volunteers having used the system on its launch day (The Australian, 05-Aug-2011). The Australian government sought to avoid privacy concerns that had arisen in other country by using technology that generates a standard figure outline, "so any male looks like any other male outline and the female looks like any other female outline," Mr Albanese said. The government has not yet committed to using the L3 scanner and said it would assess the results of the trials before moving ahead with full implementation.

Australian government: "The response from the public has been extremely positive and more than half of all passengers approached have been happy to volunteer. The technology has been working as intended, with the body scanner detecting a range of items carried by passengers in their clothing, and so far no prohibited items have been detected. The feedback we've received is that there is genuine interest in the technology from the public, and at times the number of volunteers has exceeded the capacity of the body scanner." Anthony Albanese, Transport Minister. Source: The Australian, 05-Aug-2011.

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