The State Food and Drug Administration last month banned the use of hydrophilic polyacrylamide gel, known in China as Ao Mei Ding, the China Daily newspaper reported.

"It continuously caused negative effects... and the administration's monitoring center believes its safety cannot be guaranteed," the paper quoted the government body as saying.

More than 300,000 Chinese women have been injected with the so-called "magic liquid" in the past five years, estimated Qiao Qun, director of plastic surgery at Peking Union Hospital.

Qun said more than 100 women come to her hospital every year to request to have the liquid removed after suffering from aches and pains.

"Many are in such agony that they can hardly sleep and some have had the harrowing experience of having their breasts removed to save their lives," the report said.

However the gel, made by Chinese firm Fu Hua Pharmaceutical Co Ltd in the northeastern province of Jilin, cannot be completely removed and will forever threaten the health of the women concerned, it said.

"The colloidal liquid will move to other parts of the body... it will stay with the woman throughout her life," Chen Huanran, a doctor at the Chinese Academy of Medical Science, was quoted as saying.

The report did not say exactly what was wrong with the gel, but said it received approval in 2000 without going through proper testing regulations.

Plastic surgery has become increasingly popular in China as the Chinese have become wealthier and more conscious of their appearance.