Forget Samantha, there is a new sex doll that is all the rage now. With a wide range of functionality, it has redefined the sex industry.

China is currently facing a massive gender gap, with 33.6 million more men than women in the country of 1.4 billion people.

But one firm believes it may have a solution for these lonely men - in the form of ‘smart’ sex dolls that can talk, play music, and even turn on dishwashers.

Exdoll is a firm based in Dalian, that has ambitions to apply artificial intelligence to make life-like dolls with a range of uses.

Speaking to AFP, Wuy Xingliang, marketing director at Exdoll, said: “China has a shortage of women, and this is a factor in why there's this demand, but they're not just for sex.

"We're designing them so they can have meaningful conversations with you and help with chores around the house.

“They could eventually even work as medical assistants or receptionists.”

Exdoll’s doll is called Xiaodie, and is a sex doll fitted with Wi-Fi similar to smart assistants like Siri and Alexa, which can surf the internet and respond to voice commands.

Buyers can customise a range of physical features.

This includes height, skin tone, breast size, eye colour, hair colour and even amount of pubic hair.

According to Exdoll, the most popular dolls have pale skin, large breasts and measure between 158 and 170 centimetres (five foot two and five foot seven) tall.