Updated August 01, 2011

Photo: The scanner will be in use at Sydney Airport's international terminal for three weeks before the trial moves to Melbourne. (AAP: Dean Lewins)

A trial of full-body scanners is beginning at Sydney Airport's international terminal.

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese launched the trial this morning, which will run for just under three weeks.

The scanners will also be trialled at Melbourne Airport next month.

The machines have caused controversy at airports around the world, with concerns they expose passengers to radio waves and x-ray radiation.

Privacy groups have also condemned some scanners because they produce detailed images of a person's body.

The Federal Government hopes to avoid that controversy by trialling machines that produce a generic outline of a person.

Suspicious objects are highlighted in colour, but the scanner does not produce images of a person's genitals.

The information gathered will also not be shared or stored.

Mr Albanese says once people see the technology he believes their concerns will evaporate.

"We are very confident that just as people now accept that they have to walk through scanners and they have to put their luggage through x-ray machines, we believe very clearly that they'll accept this technology," Mr Albanese said.

"We're having a trial in part so people can see for themselves."

Any passenger who sets off the metal detector alarm will be given the option of being scanned, or the more traditional method of a pat-down by security staff.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-01/body-scanners-on-trial-at-syd...