Nearly two thirds of women would pop a female 'Viagra' to boost their sex life - and some want the effects to last for more than 24 hours, a new study reveals.

Researchers from the University of Zurich in Switzerland asked women if they wanted a pill "designed to enhance their sexual performance".

Turns out they said "oh yes".

Nearly 160 Swiss women aged between 18 and 73 took part in the study. Three-quarters were in a relationship, a quarter single.

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Fifty-five percent said they were "rather willing" to pop a sex pill, if it worked - while 6 percent would "definitely" take it.

The most common reason given was to increase orgasm frequency, followed by increasing orgasm intensity and increasing sexual desire.

About half said the effect should last up to an hour, while 41 per cent said 15 minutes would suffice.

However, an adventurous 7 per cent wanted the effect to last a day or more.

Of the 39 per cent who weren't keen, almost half said they just didn't want to take a pill, and a third were already satisfied with their sex lives.

Ten percent feared the side-effects, while only 5 per cent doubted it would even work. The happier women were in their existing relationships, the less likely they were to want a sex pill.

In contrast to men, who've had access to Viagra since the late 1990s, the researchers said the "complex nature of women's sexual desire... might be less receptive to biomedical intervention".

A pill for women - Addyi - has been on the market in the United States since 2015, but uptake has been slow.

Not only does it have to be taken daily, but it costs US$800 ($1100) a month and cannot be mixed with alcohol.

It has also had limited success in trials, showing "minimal improvement to no change" at all for women taking it.

However, there is a limit to how much women would shell out for a supercharged sex life.

The women surveyed said they would not be willing to pay the US$800 Addyi costs.
One-off pills could cost up to US$9.75 ($13.50) without putting most women off.

The research was published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine on Friday.