Babies 'could soon post kicks on Facebook'

Pregnant women will soon be able to share the joyous feeling of their unborn baby kicking inside them with their friends online as a special belt which transmits the signal is being developed in the US. A number of new mums already create pages for their babies on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace in order to share news and photographs. Now they will be able to keep their friends and family updated on their baby's progress before they are even born.

The Kickbee is a stretchable band to be worn across the belly which is embedded with electronic sensors.

These sensors can transmit small voltages when movement - such as a kicking baby - is detected, which can then be transmitted via a Bluetooth device to the users' online profile.

Inventor Corey Menscher, from New York University, hopes to make the service available on Facebook in the future.

PhD student Mr Menscher said that he came up with the idea, which is still at the prototype stage, after his wife became pregnant.

"There's something special about pregnant women's bellies that make so many want to touch them," he said.

"As an expectant father, I wanted to create a device that would give me a chance to be aware of our baby's movements."