Wellington, Aug 27: Partners who’re not where they are supposed to be could soon be watching their exploits live on a mobile phone, courtesy ‘The Watch Anywhere Monitoring Camera’.

The revolutionary hardware, which resembles a computer webcam, is billed as an anti-theft system - but can also be used to catch wayward lovers and truant children.

Users simply install the device in the room they wish to monitor. If the motion sensor detects a disturbance, it sends a three-second video of the event to the owner's mobile phone.

"It allows you to call the police and report the intruder immediately. You can also use it to make sure the kids are home from school by 4.30 - or that they're not home at 1.30,” The NZPA quoted Adrian Lawrence, manager of the Anywhere Group, as saying.

Users can also dial up to receive a photo at any time or listen live through the built-in microphone. The camera even has an infra-red mode to capture night-time shenanigans.

But civil liberties advocates fear such technology could be a godsend to peeping toms.

"What's to stop someone installing it in their bathroom and recording secret footage of their guests?" said Michael Pearce, SC, vice-president of the Victorian Council for Civil Liberties.

The Watch Anywhere Camera costs 495 Australian Dollars. (ANI)