Britain's Olympic sailors and mountain bikers at London 2012 will have clothing and equipment covered with a liquid-repellent coating initially developed to protect soldiers from chemical weapons.

The invisible "nano-coating" is fully breathable and adds no extra weight, and water just runs off any equipment and clothing covered with it.

It will be used by the likes of Hampshire sailors Ben Ainslie, Iain Percy and Ben Rhodes this summer.

The technology has been developed for the Olympics through a partnership between UK Sport and Oxford-based firm P2i.

UK Sport hope to widen the use of the nano-coating to other sports such as road cycling and marathon running for future Games.

For Britain's mountain bike competitors in London, it could make the difference between winning gold or missing out on a medal - studies have shown that taking on an extra kilogram weight of mud and water can slow times by up to 15 seconds.

Stephen Coulson, chief technical officer at P2i, said: "For example, our technology applied to the footwear of outdoor cyclists means that even in the harshest of conditions they will remain lightweight and dry."

The nano-coating can also be applied to pedals and the crank shaft of the bikes to keep them as dry as possible.

The international cycling union UCI, who keep a close eye out to prevent any unfair advantages in terms of technology, have said they have no issue with the use of the nano-coating.

In sailing, the coating will cover harnesses and other equipment, and reduce weight and help keep sailors dry.

The product is just one of a number of cutting-edge innovations that are being harnessed by UK Sport for British athletes, and Scott Drawer, UK Sport's head of research and innovation, said such developments were seeing Britain overtake rivals Germany and Australia in terms of sports science and making Team GB the envy of the world.

Drawer said: "There is no doubt we are the world leader in some areas - people have tried to copy us and that's the greatest accolade you can have.

"Germany and Australia have had a longer heritage in this area but we have been able to accelerate and overtake them thanks to the quality of industry and academia in this country."

Other innovations being used by athletes preparing for London 2012 include a virtual reality system developed by computer game students at Sheffield Hallam University to create an accurate virtual replica of the Serpentine where the open water swimmers will compete.

David Davis missed out on the gold medal in Beijing by losing track of the path in his exhausted state, and the virtual reality should help the swimmers know exactly where they are.

BAE Systems have a £1.5million partnership with UK Sport and have developed laser-timing technology for cycling, designed new chassis for wheelchair athletes in the Paralympics, and a system to improve double-trap shooting.