While some people are happy with regular sex, others have sexual fantasies and fetishes they yearn to fulfil.

But some fetishes are not realistically attainable, and people are left having to use their imagination.

Experts believe virtual reality may be the way forward, and could allow people with bizarre fetishes to achieve their desires from the privacy of their own home.

Scroll down for video

Experts believe that virtual reality may be the way forward, and could allow people with bizarre fetishes to achieve their desires from the privacy of their own home (stock image)

Sex with unobtainable things like aliens, for example, is not a new concept.

'People have always had sexual fantasies engaging with notions of "otherness" and that which we cannot have or are realistically unattainable,' Trudy Barber, a lecturer in Media Studies at the University of Portsmouth, told MailOnline.

'A wish to have sex with aliens is very prevalent in lots of science fiction stories such as in the film Galaxy Quest or the classic seductive green Orion "slave-girl" of early Star Trek fame.'

A recent study suggests the desire to have sex with aliens may be more common than you might think.

The survey in Panama found people who claim they've seen a UFO are often struck by feelings of sexual desire immediately afterwards.

Six per cent of Panamanians claimed they've seen a UFO, according to the survey, and of this group, 37 per cent said it had awakened their sex drive.

A wish to have sex with aliens is very prevalent in lots of science fiction stories such as in the film Galaxy Quest or the classic seductive green Orion 'slave-girl' (pictured) of early Star Trek fame

'A desire for sex was the strongest feeling – according to the survey – among those who claim having seen a UFO, far above a feeling of terror (17 per cent),' said Diana Santanach, director of Cid Gallup, who led the study.

But until life on other planets has been found, physical sex with aliens remains out of reach.

EVOLUTION OF SEX A recent report from Bondara claims: By 2030, most people will have some form of virtual sex as casually as they browse porn today. By 2035 the majority of people will own sex toys that interact with virtual reality sex. 'Sexbots' will start to appear in high-income, very wealthy households as soon as 2025. Sex with robots will be more popular than human-human sex in 2050. Love and the act of sex is set to become increasingly separate, with relationships increasingly becoming based on more than just sex. Advertisement

Dr Barber believes bizarre fetishes could be lived out through the medium of virtual reality.

'Virtual reality and sexual fetishism has been discussed for quite some time,' she said.

'There is a link between our sexual prediction and our use of technology and of course sex has long been thought of as a driver for technological invention.

'In a VR environment you can explore as many types of sexual engagement as there are people to invent and create them but for specific sexual fetishes there needs to be specific world builders available - as no two persons fetish are alike.'

As we've seen with the recent growth of the sex robot industry, if there is a market that is willing to pay, someone will try to develop such systems.

Dr Mark Griffiths, Director of the International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University, told MailOnline: 'VR and its applications can only be as good as the technology.

'Whenever there is a technology advance, there are two industries that tend to be the first to monetise – the sex industry and the gambling industry.

'I've been saying for 20 years that VR could be used to enact sexual fantasies.

Virtual reality could be used by people with macrophilia - those who are aroused by the thought of having sex with others who are significantly larger than they are (stock image)

'I can certainly foresee some celebrities and/or porn stars being paid by VR companies to use their images in sexual VR games and/or software.'

But it's not just a case of giving someone a headset showing them their desire, and sending them on their way.

Dr Barber believes in order to fulfil specific fantasies, VR will need to involve other senses.

She said: 'VR will have to become fully immersive with sounds and haptic feedback (for touch) and other sensual things such as smell for example.

GAS MASK BLASTS SMELLS OUT WHILE YOU WATCH VR PORN While virtual reality headsets can make you visually feel like you're in a situation, it can be difficult to switch off and fully immerse yourself in a scenario. But a new sensory mask looks set to revolutionise the way virtual reality is used in the bedroom. CamSoda has launched a new mask that delivers smells to the virtual reality experience, providing users with immersive aromas while watching adult entertainment CamSoda has launched a mask that delivers smells to the virtual reality experience, providing users with immersive aromas while watching adult entertainment. Dubbed 'OhRoma', users wear a sensory mask, which resembles a gas mask, alongside their virtual reality headset. The headset shows virtual reality porn, in which a selected man or woman appears to perform sexual acts on the user through a teledildonic device. Meanwhile, users can choose from a range of smells to pump through the mask, including 'private parts', 'body odour', 'fragrances', 'panties', 'aphrodisiacs' and 'environments'. When the cartridge containing the scent is heated, the aromas are pumped through the mask, immersing the user in the experience. Advertisement

'There are already people working on smells and touch.

'Imagine if this was applied to an immersive virtual world, then technically you could experience a synthetic kiss created by an artificial intelligent avatar alien reacting to you in your immersed VR world.'

But one person's idea of an alien could differ hugely from someone else's, so an element of personalisation may be needed.

Dr Griffiths said: 'Given personalisation is at the root of many online technologies, this would appear to be a logical consequence of what is likely to be possible in the future.

'The use of photoshopping is widespread on the internet in relation to superimposing celebrity faces onto the bodies of naked people.

'If there is a way to do an equivalent of this in VR, those with the skills will do it.'

Beyond photoshopping, Dr Barber believes personalised VR could become a whole new industry.

She said: 'I foresee "Personal Immersive Narrative Creators" (PINCs) whose job will be to create specific tailored worlds and be commissioned to oversee requirements.

'Sort of like a Virtual Reality movie director.'

But using virtual reality to fulfil fetishes does not come without risks.

Dr Griffiths said: 'There's always a chance that people will prefer their sexual fantasy life with VR to their real life sex life.

'In every human behaviour there will always be a small minority that engage in the behaviour excessively that conflicts with other areas of their life.

'Given there are already some people that could be described as "pornography addicts", VR addiction to sex-based products is a theoretical possibility.'



