Wealthy Mexicans, terrified of soaring kidnapping rates, are spending thousands of dollars to implant tiny transmitters under their skin so satellites can help find them tied up in a safe house or stuffed in the trunk of a car.

Kidnapping jumped almost 40 percent between 2004 and 2007 in Mexico according to official statistics. Mexico ranks with conflict zones like Iraq and Colombia as among the worst countries for abductions.

The Xega company injects the crystal-encased chip, the size and shape of a grain of rice, into clients’ bodies with a syringe. A transmitter then sends signals via satellite to pinpoint the location of a person in distress.

The chips cost $4,000 plus an annual fee of $2,200…

Xega sees kidnapping as a growth industry and is planning to expand its services next year to Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela.

We’ve discussed chipping before as likely under more and more repressive governments in the U.S. and elsewhere. This offers an entirely different scenario.

I can see people getting chipped as a status symbol. In fact, there will eventually be people who just stab themselves in the arm with an icepick to make a wee scar that they can say was the result of chipping. 🙂