Advances in testing technology mean that the days of the embarrassing trip to the STD clinic may be drawing to a close.

Most current STD check-ups for women involve taking a swab from high inside the vagina, which is not only an unpleasant experience for the patient, but an unreliable method of testing.

Two innovative techniques for gathering samples were revealed at the Interscience Conference on Anti-Microbial Agents and Chemotherapy in Toronto, Canada, and reported on the New Scientist website.

A team of researchers from the Africa Centre for Population Studies wanted to develop a non-invasive test which could overcome the problems of helping remote communities with limited access to doctors.

Patrick Sturm, from the centre, developed a "tampon" which was sent to the women, who inserted it for 15 minutes.

These were then sent off to the laboratory for testing for the most common STD in the world, Trichomonas vaginalis.

This is caused by a single-celled animal which causes itching and a discharge.

Infected mothers are far more likely to have low-birthweight or premature babies.

Even though the test was self-applied, the detection rate actually improved, with 24% of the 1,000 women participating found to have the infection.

'Less traumatic'

Dr Sturm said: "It's less traumatic, and there's no need for a vaginal examination."

The laboratory test checked for the presence of genes unique to the Trichamonas - it is claimed that it could detect the presence of as few as 10 Trichamonas in a sample, and does not matter if the creatures are alive or dead.

The team also believes their tampons can be used to detect other STDs such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea, which are prevalent in more developed countries.

Chlamydia can infect women and damage their fertility without even causing noticeable symptoms.

A separate team from Laval University in Quebec have devised a modified sanitary towel which can test for chlamydia.

The towel simply has to be worn for a few hours, the filter removed, sealed in a bag and posted to the laboratory.

Again the genetic tests proved highly effective at spotting the infection.

And Michel Fortier, who came up with the idea, says it could also be used to detect the telltale proteins produced by pregnant women who are about to go into premature labour.