Taiwanese wives are scrambling to get their hands on high tech mobile phones designed to catch cheating husbands.

The spy phone contains a special chip that can catch sounds and voices near the handset, The Straits Times reports.

The idea is that suspicious wives give the mobile to their hubby as a gift, then dial a code to activate the chip and listen in to his conversations.

Alternatively, they can stick the chip in his existing phone.

One local supplier told The Straits Times that he had received thousands of calls enquiring about the gadget. And most of these were from wives who wanted to spy on their husbands while they were away on business in China.

But there are drawbacks to the phones, which cost around NT$35,000 ($1,800). According to the report, while the chip is activated no calls can be made or received, which could arouse suspicion.

At least a million Taiwanese businessman visit China every year - and an estimated two thirds of them are believed to have mistresses. ®

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