April 2, 2008 - If you thought "Robocop" was a little far-fetched, think again. Cyborgs - especially cyborg insects - are making the spy technology scene.

The newest recruits in the War on Terror are high-tech "flies on the wall." Scientists in the U.S. are fitting insects - and rats, moths, pigeons, bulls and even sharks - with special implants so they can be remote-controlled and deployed for surveillance.

The creatures are installed with special electrodes, batteries and even video cameras. The goal is to create the ultimate cyborgs to serve the U.S. as undetectable super spies.

So how will cyborg rats be critical to national security?

They will be incredibly useful in search-and-rescue missions. Because they can identify specific scents, such as those of humans or explosives, cyborg rats are expected to be used to find people trapped under rubble or to sniff out bombs.

Cyborg rescue rats will be equipped with mini-backpacks to transmit to mission control messages such as "mission accomplished" or "target located." The most advanced generation will carry "rat cams" to give the cyborg commander a "rat's-eye view." They also will be trained to board a "ratmobile," so they easily can be transported to the site of their mission.

Israel has picked up this American program to use cyborg rats in its search-and-rescue missions.

Taking "Jaws" to an entirely new level, the small, spiny dogfish shark was successfully turned into a cyborg in a project conducted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA. (They're the folks who brought us the real-life R2D2.) To steer the cyborg, a brain implant directs the shark to turn left or right by tricking it to follow phantom odors.

The U.S. was left behind last year when a Chinese team successfully transferred cyborg technology to birds. Pigeons’ brains were implanted with electrodes that allowed the Chinese team to command them via wireless signals from a laptop. They created the ultimate cyborg "spy in the sky."

Scientists plug into and hijack these living animals’ sensory abilities because they are vastly superior to the majority of artificial sensors available on the market. The cyborgs’ intense sense of smell, for example, allows them to detect the faintest trace of chemicals - a skill very useful in counter-terrorism.

Rats, pigeons and sharks are big enough to carry miniature video cameras, computers and the batteries to power them.