HONG KONG -- Hong Kong scientists have created a mannequin so lifelike it even sweats.

"Walter" has been designed to help clothes designers develop more comfortable military clothing, sportswear and even spacesuits.

"It perspires when it gets too hot under the collar," Jintu Fan, one of the model's creators, told Reuters.

Fan, associate professor at the Institute of Textiles and clothing at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, made the mannequin with research student Yisong Chen.

Filled with pipes containing heated water, Walter has a "body" temperature of 37 degrees Celsius, three layers of custom-built "skin" and motorized limbs.

"The top layer allows water to pass through while the bottom layer is water resistant. The middle layers control the perspiration process by only allowing water to pass through in vapor form," Fan said.

"The skin can even be removed and replaced with skins of different porosity, to evaluate the garment's performance in the face of varying rates of perspiration," Fan said.