Some prostitutes as old as the age of 70 are still finding work in rural Australia, having been pushed out of the bigger cities from the fierce competition of younger workers.

Brothels are legal across most of Australia, but states have strict laws against soliciting and running brothels in residential areas, and near churches or schools.

The research, conducted by John Scott of the University of New England, found that the sex industry has flourished recently in rural towns, with many prostitutes making regular visits.

Scott tells Reuters, "I've likened some of them to traveling musicians, in that some of them might be based in metropolitan centers and they go out and travel -- they tour the bush."

Scott also says that many of the sex workers finding work in the rural areas tend to be older and provide more companionship then their younger counterparts.

He says, "In a business that is based on looks and age a lot of the time, it became increasingly hard for workers as they progressed in age. If they had been in the business for 20 or 30 years, as a couple were, they found themselves increasingly working further away from the metropolitan centers."

Scott also adds that regular rural clients tend to be more polite, and be interested in having a little company as well as sex, "A lot of the time these blokes just want a bit of a cuddle, or to talk."