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South Korean scientists on Thursday unveiled an android that can express emotions, follow movements and hold simple conversations in Korean, showing the nation's growing technological prowess in robotics.

The robot named EveR-1 is 160 centimeters tall, weighs 50 kilograms and has facial and physical features of an average 20-something Korean woman, the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) said.

"EveR-1 is the world's second android after Actroid, which was shown at an international robot exhibition in Tokyo late last year," said Baeg Moon-hong, one of the creators.

Thanks to the use of miniature motors that are installed all over its body, the expressions of EveR-1 are more natural than those of the Japanese robot which uses a hydraulic system for certain movements, he said.

The android can mimic several human emotions like happiness and surprise with the help of 35 miniature motors and synthetic, pliable skin. It has 35 joints that allow it to move its head, arms and upper body and can synchronize the movements of its lips with what it says.

The android can also recognize 400 Korean words that allows it to respond to questions both verbally and through facial emotions, and has motion data process sensors in its artificial eyes to follow people with its eyes and head.

The motion-following feature has never been offered in a robot before, and the ability to coordinate both facial and upper body movements requires a considerable degree of expertise in mechanical integration, Baeg said.

The robot cannot move, but an improved version that could be completed by the end of the year will be able to sit and stand on its own, he said.

EveR-1 cost 300 million won (US$321,000) in state funds and was built over one year, although the technology had been developed from 2001.

"The creation of the android is a testament to South Korea's technological excellence in robotics," said the chief of the applied robot technology division at KITECH.

The country had the technology to make robots talk, walk and respond to its surroundings, but they have never been fully integrated into a single system, he said.

South Korea released a robot named Albert Hubo during the 2005 APEC summit gathering in Busan last year. The 137-centimeter-tall two-legged robot with a head modeled after Alert Einstein was programmed to smile or blink when visitors passed by.

In addition, South Korea has made strides in both industrial and so-called entertainment robots, along with machines that can clean homes and take phone calls.

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said it plans to host the country's first-ever international robot show in October in an effort to boost public interest in robotics.

The event that will run from Oct. 18-22 in Seoul will feature a robot industry show, a robot contest with a grand prize of 1 million won and a robot conference.

The South Korean government considers the robot industry a key growth engine of the future and supports research and development in that field.(Yonhap News Agency)