Melbourne, December 15 : Music fans in Australia are so hooked on to their iPods that they seem to be living, breathing and sleeping with the gadget, according to a study.

Researcher Andrew Scott, Griffith University, found that iPod listeners were using their personal music players to get out of bed in the morning, throughout their working day and even to get to sleep at night.

"Whether it''s commuting, working out, cycling, recreation or housework, the iPod becomes an extension of the person," News. com. au quoted Scott as saying.

"People use them to moderate and mediate the urban experience... creating their own little world," he added.

But Stephen Russell, from European consumer lobby group ANEC, warned against listening to music at dangerous volumes.

He said: "The units on the market at the moment, some of them are capable of generating a volume of beyond 115 decibels.

"Now if we compare that with health and safety legislation, workers are not allowed to be exposed to that levels of volume for more than 30 seconds." (ANI)