Blue Word Crete, which develops solutions from mimicking processes found in nature, said its scientists had created wood-like structures by using its development process.

The company says its study of algae and molluscs had led it to isolate a protein enzyme that causes the biomineralisation process of their shell structures.

It claims the "super wood", called Geo-Blue Wood, is fire-proof and acid/alkali resistant and cannot be affected by any normally occurring condition.

It also says the material is self-insulating, with a heat resistance factor of 70 at 1/4in thickness. Blue World Crete said the innovation meant trees did not have to be felled for timber.