Competition is tough for places at Moscow State University

Moscow University security guards first thought the applicant had an oversized bust because "she" was trying to take crib sheets into the exam.

A search unmasked the false bosom, the university told the BBC News website.

The man was barred from the exam and the woman he attempted to cover for was struck off the entrants' list.

She had been seeking a place in the university's prestigious psychology faculty.

Heavy make-up

Yasen Zasursky, a head of department in the university's journalism faculty where the exams were being held, said the man's "especially protruding female features" gave him away.

"Someone was trying to sit the maths exam dressed as a lady," he told the BBC.

"The guard was suspicious that they were taking some materials into the exam. He opened the jacket and saw it was a young gentleman."

The youth was also apparently wearing heavy make-up.

Correspondents say cheating is a major problem in Russia's universities and colleges, where bribery is commonplace.

But Mr Zasursky seemed to suggest that the ruse was an appropriate one for the subject involved.

"They try to see ways of using their knowledge of psychology," he quipped.