An experimental space-age suit that has militaries around the world lining up will be unveiled at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI) tonight.

The invention by one of BUEI's international advisors, Canadian Dr. Phil Nuytten, will allow divers to descend about 1,000 feet and roam around the ocean for two days before having to come up for air.

Dr. Nuytten's latest atmospheric diving suit (ADS), the "Exosuit'', is in its final testing stages and he said BUEI was very progressive to have secured one of the few models available.

"This is so new,'' he said. "This is cutting-edge technology. That the BUEI can say they have a model of something which has not yet gone into production, that is still in beta testing, it's amazing.'' A diver since he was a boy, Dr. Nuytten invented the forerunner to the Exosuit, the Newt suit, back in the early 1980s.

But the improvements which have resulted in the Exosuit are major. It is made of titanium and a composite fibre -- "a space age fibre-glass'' -- and weighs only 120 pounds so it is much lighter than the 800-pound Newt suit.

It also gives the diver much more freedom as he can swim untethered. The suit has flippers attached at the feet. Newt suit divers were tethered to a mother ship which they depended on and which restricted movement.

The most significant difference between the two suits, however, is cost.

Thousands of dollars will be saved by purchasing the Exosuit over the Newt.

"A Newt suit cost half a million dollars when we produced them but I'm determined that we'll be able to sell the Exosuit for around $100,000,'' said Dr. Nuytten.

The international military market is eager for the suits to become available and Dr. Nuytten revealed that some insisted on placing deposits.

"We have already taken deposits on the first suits,'' he said, "although I really didn't want to.'' After the initial entry of the Exosuit into the market, Dr. Nuytten predicted that the price will fall to about $50,000.

"And then what I am aiming at,'' he continued, "is to bring the cost down to something like the price of a Volkswagen car.'' The Exosuit's immediate application will be for submarine rescues. Dr. Nuytten said submarine sinkings and difficulties are much more frequent than we realise.

"That is classified information so you don't get to hear about it,'' he said.

He pointed out that the best chance for sailors to survive a submarine problem is to escape individually.

"The best rescue is self-rescue,'' he said. "But this is not done for several reasons, one major one being that it would result in several people needing the facilities of a decompression unit at one time. But chances are those facilities would not be available on site.'' The Exosuit also has other important military applications, Dr. Nuytten was not at liberty to reveal, but if you bear in mind that it has a life support system which can keep you going for two days, you may be able to fathom a guess at what some of those might be.