Scientists at the University of Hertfordshire have successfully tested a new product that will eliminate germs and diseases from computer keyboards.

The Germ Genie, which sits above the keyboard, uses UV light to sanitise the keys and destroy microbes that could pass on infections such as Flu, MRSA and E.Coli.

The Genie, developed by Falcon Innovations, works by sensing finger movement on the computer keyboard, and after the user has finished it cleans the keyboard with UV light.

Tests at the University of Hertfordshire's Biodet laboratory on E.Coli, Staphylococcus Aureus and Bacillus Subtillis have now revealed that the Germ Genie kills 99 per cent of germs across most of the keyboard in just two minutes, and across the whole keyboard in ten minutes.

Richard Smith, director of Biodet said: “We were given a Germ Genie and we did the testing to show that it worked. The science of UV light being anti-microbial is well established, but the Germ Genie had not been tested thoroughly to show that it worked on computer keyboards.”