iPhone app rates your sex life

SMH

TRY AGAIN: A screenshot from the Passion iPhone application.

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A new iPhone application has been released that purports to measure how good you are in bed.

The ''Passion'' app uses the phone's built-in accelerometer, used to sense motion, as well as the device's microphone and timer.

Simply place the phone on the bed or in a pocket before intercourse and, at the end of the horizontal dance, the phone will give you a rating out of 10 based on three criteria: duration, orgasm and activity.

The timer measures duration, while the accelerometer measures activity and the microphone measures the orgasm.

The score can then be uploaded and compared to those of other people around the world. There is even a ''high scores'' leaderboard for those interested in bragging rights.

The US$4.99 app is the brainchild of Chris Alvares, a US computer science student who has previously developed a number of iPhone quiz apps including WikiQuiz, Four Squared and MusicApp.

''All you have to do is start the application, put your iPhone on the bed, in an arm band, or even in your pocket and have intercourse, it is as easy as that,'' Alvares wrote in a blog post announcing the new app.

''Once you are finished, press the stop button and view your results.''

Those with more fuel left in the tank can elect to ''try again'' if they're not happy with their score.

In an email interview, Alvares said he was not sure how many copies of the app he had sold yet as it had only just been added to the iTunes App Store.

''No, it is not a hoax, and it actually works! The idea came up as a joke between some of my co-works [sic] and I, and later I figured out an algorithm that I could use with the iPhone's available features,'' he wrote.

The iPhone App Store's army of third-party developers seem to be showing a predilection for bizarre and tasteless apps, a trend kicked off by the iFart app, which reportedly earned US$10,000 a day and inspired 13 copycats.

Other apps in a similar vein include Naughty Trivia, Amateur Surgeons, R U Drunk, eShaver and Purity Ring.

An app called ''the most annoying app ever'' serves no other purpose than to constantly pester users.

This week bloggers were amused after discovering the top three most popular iPhone apps focused on sex, drugs and alcohol.

These were Swimsuit Illustrated's Swimsuit app, the Cannabis app for locating medical marijuana dispensaries on a map and the Mixologist app, which includes mixed drink recipes.