Secret agents wanted - but not James Bond

But it makes clear that its most famous fictional recruit need not apply: he is too "high profile".

SIS, commonly known as MI6, has joined its slightly less shadowy counterpart MI5 in publicly inviting job applications. The move, via the Foreign Office’s website, is seen as an attempt to fill extra posts created in response to the increased terrorist threat after the September 11 attacks on the US.

Clearly, the traditional method of recruitment for spies - being taken aside discreetly by one’s Oxbridge tutor - is no longer sufficient. Would-be agents who are waiting to be "tapped on the shoulder by your university don" are instead advised: "Don’t wait to be asked."

Details of what it takes to be a latter-day Bond have been included on the website alongside other Foreign Office careers. The move follows similar recruitment drives by MI5, the domestic intelligence service.

According to MI6, it "recruits high-calibre graduates with exceptional interpersonal skills and intellectual capabilities who are interested in working in an international environment with periods spent living overseas".

Other essential qualities include "curiosity about political affairs", "evidence of interest in foreign peoples and cultures", and, in an apparent reference to possible death-defying exploits, "the resourcefulness, drive and creativity to produce solutions to difficult problems under testing circumstances".

However, an accompanying briefing note makes clear that 007 himself is not required.

"Much as we enjoy his exploits, and charm is an SIS asset, James Bond’s high profile means he wouldn’t pass muster as an SIS recruit," it states. "The best intelligence officer is one you would never spot."

Instead, MI6 says it is looking for "a modest James Bond with a brain", who has a "streak of adventurousness" and "an iconoclastic nature" but remains loyal to his or her country.

In a further attempt to dispel some of the myths created by Ian Fleming’s character, the Foreign Office makes clear: "SIS isn’t looking for abseilers... the Action Man - or Woman - image isn’t a prerequisite."

Successful candidates are also "likely to have a strong academic record", as well as "positions of influence in extra-curricular activities" and "commitment to public service".

Age is not necessarily important, but most recruits will be under 35, according to the FO, which says applications are equally welcome from people with "public and private sector backgrounds", those "considering a career change" and university students.

Despite the new openness, the job description remains somewhat vague. It is described tersely as "primarily to mount and run intelligence operations to promote and protect British interests and security overseas".