Britain?s security service MI5 is keen to bring more women on board as it launches a new recruitment campaign this week - the latest stage in a drive to double its size. The domestic spy agency, around 1,800 strong at the time of the Sept. 11 2001 attacks on the United States, has swelled its ranks to more than 3,000 and expects to reach 3,500 by the end of 2008. While women make up around 47 percent of all employees, they account for only 38 percent of new applicants.

?We need to get that increased so we?re not going to have a problem further down the line,? said a security source. ?We have to reflect the diversity of the UK to do our job properly.? The nature of surveillance work, for example, requires a healthy balance between male and female operatives to keep track of suspects without attracting attention.