ONDON - A new exhibition in London lifts the lid on the real-life world of spying, amid concerns about a developing "Big Brother" society and its effects on individual freedoms and civil liberties.

A boy demonstrates a 'facescan' at the Science of Spying exhibition at the Science Museum in central London. A new exhibition in London lifts the lid on the real-life world of spying, amid intrigue over the radioactive poisoning death of a former Russian secret agent and concerns about an increasingly "Big Brother" society. [AFP]

"The Science of... Spying" opens at The Science Museum on Saturday, promising to be "the world's biggest interactive exhibition examining the secrets of modern espionage".

"It's a huge theme that everybody is interested in. Everybody wants to be a spy," said Sara Milne, chief executive of "The Science of..." series, which has already looked at aliens and next year plans to focus on climate change.

"We want to go into the real world of spying. We are not doing a James Bond show here. We're dealing with the real life tools of the trade."

Visitors - or "trainee spies" - will be tested on how well they can crack codes, gather covert information and give a convincing cover story as well as find out about the gadgets and techniques used by real-life agents.

Electronic bugging and tracking devices, mini cameras and remote computer keystroke readers are featured as well how current spy technology is affecting our everyday lives and how it will develop in the future.

Two separate reports last year warned that Britain - where there is a CCTV camera for every 14 people - was becoming a "surveillance society" and was the worst in the Western world alongside Russia for protecting individual privacy.

But despite strong opposition from civil liberties campaigners, Prime Minister Tony Blair is forging ahead with controversial plans for biometric identity cards and "e-passports", which he argues will help national security.

He also wants the police to widen the DNA database to include people who have been arrested but released without charge and also increase the remote monitoring of car journeys.

The show, put together with help from former agents at Britain's MI6 overseas intelligence agency, British military intelligence and the US Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA), hopes to raise awareness of such issues, Milne said.

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