WHILE many believed it to be an April Fool's Day joke, Vladimir Putin has confirmed Russia has been testing mind-bending psychotronic guns that can effectively turn people into zombies.

The futuristic weapons - which attack their victims' central nervous system - are being developed by scientists and could be used against Russia's enemies and even its own dissidents by the end of the decade.

Mr Putin has described the guns, which use electromagnetic radiation like that found in microwave ovens, as entirely new instruments for achieving political and strategic goals.

Plans to introduce the super-weapons were announced by Russian defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov.

While the technology has been around for some time, MrTsyganok said the guns were recently tested for crowd control purposes.

“When it was used for dispersing a crowd and it was focused on a man, his body temperature went up immediately as if he was thrown into a hot frying pan," Mr Tsyganok said.

"Still, we know very little about this weapon and even special forces guys can hardly cope with it,'' he said.

Research into electromagnetic weapons has been carried out in the US and Russia since the '50s but it appears Putin has stolen a march on the US.

Precise details have not been revealed but previous research has shown that low-frequency waves or beams can affect brain cells, alter psychological states and make it possible to transmit suggestions and commands directly into someone's thoughts.

Mr Putin said the technology is comparable in effect to nuclear weapons but “more acceptable in terms of political and military ideology''.

Mr Serdyukov said the weaponry based on new physics principles - direct-energy weapons, geophysical weapons, wave-energy weapons, genetic weapons and psychotronic weapons - were part of the state arms procurement program for 2011-2020.

Maybe there will be a reason to purchase that zombie safe house, after all.

Last year Texan Austin Fleming’s created the Vagabond Mobile Safe House Device, which incorporates potable water filtration, tracking devices and photovoltaic cells into a handy and stylish leather backpack.

The whole things flips out armadillo-style in under three minutes and is covered in reflective coating to confuse drooling marauders.

The design won the 2011 Architects Southwest Zombie Safe House competition.