Full-body scanners producing images of airline passengers naked are to be introduced in America as part of a new scheme intended to promote a “stress-free airport experience”.

Just one week after increasing stress levels by demanding that all tourists be fingerprinted before leaving the country, the US homeland security chief, Michael Chertoff, announced the introduction of Checkpoint Evolution, a system designed to reduce the anxiety of innocent airline passengers and therefore to allow the easier identification of nervous terrorists.

Security checkpoints at Baltimore/ Washington International, the first airport to adopt the new system, now resemble the reception area at a new-age spa, with murals, purple mood lighting, soothing music and smiling Transport Security Administration (TSA) staff wearing Pop Idol-type headsets.

“Everyone who’s been through a checkpoint knows it’s not a relaxing experience,” Chertoff explained, adding that the tension-filled atmosphere made it difficult to detect the nervousness of genuine suspects.

Q&A: US immigration made easier

Long queues, scowling officials... entry to America can be a nerve-racking affair. Tom Chesshyre speaks to the US Embassy

• America tightens exit rules

Background

• US immigration horror stories

• Travel to America? No thanks

• Green visa waiver card is still in my passport. Help

• US entry profiling outrages travellers

Related Internet Links

• Your complete guide to US immigration

Related Links

• America tightens exit rules

• Q&A: US immigration made easier

As you pass through the new chakra-friendly zone, just try not to think about the new “millimetre wave” body-scanning portals beaming naked images of passengers to camera operators in a remote monitoring room. The TSA says that 30 of the portals will be in use across America by the end of the year, despite protests from civil-liberties campaigners.

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