The world governing body said that it would "take appropriate action" when its decision-making bureau meets in Dubai for three days from 12 March.

 

Bureau members will get reports from an elite coaches' forum being held in Singapore next month and a meeting of suit manufacturers being held on February 20 at FINA's headquarters in Lausanne.

 

That meeting is also due to hear from FINA technical committee members, swimmers, coaches and sports lawyers.

 

In a statement today, the federation said: "FINA is looking for the collaboration of all the partners in this area, so that final decisions can be globally accepted and fully understandable by the swimming community."

 

Since Speedo's LZR Racer suit, designed and tested with the help of NASA, was made available last February no fewer than 108 world records have been set, including by Britain's Rebecca Adlington, who broke Janet Evans' 18-year-old 800 metres freestyle mark.

 

Other manufacturers followed Speedo with their own high-tech suits.

 

FINA was criticised for upholding the suit designs for the Beijing Olympics and not providing a clear definition of the divide between an acceptable swimsuit and a "device" that enhanced performance.

 

Opponents say the suits create illegal levels of buoyancy and amount to "technological doping".

 

A group of 15 national teams, including Britain, competing at the European Short-Course Championships in Croatia two weeks ago signed a protest letter calling on FINA to create better guidelines regulating the suits.

 

USA Swimming has also petitioned the governing body, requesting that suits "shall not cover the neck, extend past the shoulder, nor past the knee".

 

Swimming Australia joined the debate last week, calling on FINA to stop approving new suits and enforce a rule restricting swimmers to wearing one suit at a time.

 

Australia's head coach Alan Thompson said: "You can't keep on saying the suit makes the difference.

 

"it can't make a difference 107 times [the number of world records set by swimmers wearing it].

 

"I don't think anyone in swimming is not wanting to go forward, but there's got to be some limits placed around that.

 

"I think it's a matter of just moving with the times … and part of moving with the times is putting a greater structure around the suit approval process.

 

"You don't want to remove technology from your sport but you don't want to let it go unbridled, and you need to make sure in some way you have some control over it.

 

"You don't want to get to the point which some people are talking about of having different materials that have moulding capabilities to bodies and things like that.

 

"Whether it's a new type of lycra or nylon, well that's probably something we do want to embrace.

 

"We've got to keep looking but we don't want to go to where the swimsuit becomes an aid.

 

You don't want whenever someone breaks a world record, the first question to be, 'What suit were they wearing?"'

 

It has been claimed that some competitors have worn two and even three suits in races to create a more streamlined body shape and guard against the stretched-tight material splitting.

 

FINA has commissioned research from a university it has not identified to examine the thickness of new suits and design a scientific test that will determine whether they are "credible" within the sport.

 

Any change in Fina rules could be in place for the 2009 World Championships in Rome from July 18 to August 2.