A British scientist says he is the first man in the world to become infected with a computer virus. However, this doesn’t involve some sort of Johnny Mnemonic-style countdown to his demise, rather it’s an experiment by Dr Mark Gasson from the University of Reading.

Dr Mark Gasson: "With the benefits of this type of technology come risks.”

Gasson contaminated a computer chip which was then inserted into his hand. The device, which enables him to pass through security doors and activate his mobile phone, is a sophisticated version of ID chips used to tag pets and in trials, Dr Gasson showed that the chip was able to pass on the computer virus to external control systems. He added that if other implanted chips had then connected to the system they too would have been corrupted, he said.

While Gasson did admit that the test is a proof of principle, he believes it has important implications for a future where medical devices such as pacemakers and cochlear implants become more sophisticated, and risk being contaminated by other human implants.

The BBC reports him as saying that, “With the benefits of this type of technology come risks. We may improve ourselves in some way but much like the improvements with other technologies, mobile phones for example; they become vulnerable to risks, such as security problems and computer viruses.”

Dr Gasson works at the University of Reading’s School of Systems Engineering and will present the results of his research at the International Symposium for Technology and Society in Australia next month.

In the future, despite the risks he mentioned, Gasson believes that there will be a demand for these “non-essential applications”, much as people pay for cosmetic surgery. “If we can find a way of enhancing someone’s memory or their IQ then there’s a real possibility that people will choose to have this kind of invasive procedure,” he said.