A growing number of women are developing something called 'computer face', a leading cosmetic surgeon said.

Dr Michael Prager said professionals who worked long hours in front of a screen were ending up with saggy jowls, 'turkey neck' and deep-set wrinkles on their forehead and around their eyes.

The Botoxspecialist said that, of all his clientele, office workers were most likely to show premature signs of ageing.

'If you are one of the unfortunate people who frown or squint while they are concentrating at the screen then, over time, you will inevitably end up with frown lines,' Dr Prager, 42, said.

'What is perhaps more surprising is the number of women with saggy jowls because they are sitting in one position for so long.

'If you spend most of the time looking down then the neck muscles shorten and go saggy, eventually giving you a second neck.

'We are seeing a lot of women who work in executive jobs in offices who have this problem.' Dr Prager, who has a practice near Harley Street in London, said he encourages his clients to put a mirror next to their computer so they can see if they are frowning at the screen.

'When people are stressed or thinking hard about something then they will often put on a "grumpy face" without even knowing what they are doing. When my clients put a mirror next to their desk they are often shocked by the angry, frowning face which stares back at them.'

He warned that a generation of younger men and women who had grown up with information technology were developing 'computer face' at a much earlier age.

He said: 'The women I am seeing at the moment have only been using computers at work for the last decade or so. But women in their 20s have grown up with them and use them for every single task.

'It will be completely different for them and I think the problem is going to become much, much worse. In another ten years, they could be looking quite awful.'

Dr Prager said there were several simple steps which could stave offcomputer face such as regular screen breaks and stretching the neck muscles. And, of course, there was always Botox.

He said that, after a couple of sessions of Botox, the habit of 'grumpy face' could be broken.

(Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Web site.)

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(Agencies)