The cops in South Korea have a problem - figuring out whether its illegal to pimp an inflatable doll.

Korean punters have developed a taste for "doll experience rooms", paying 25,000 won per hour (a tad over 14 quid, by our reckoning) for use of bed, computer, and pneumatic hussy. The market for the latter apparently took off after the Special Law on Prostitution came into effect in 2004, banning the sale of real flesh for purposes of sexual gratification.

Chosun.com says that in the immediate aftermath of the prohibition, "certain motels were providing the dolls to customers to bridge the gap". So successful did this gap-plugging initiative prove that pretty soon dedicated sex doll establishments had begun to open for business