A Japanese website has given the phrase “follow your nose” a whole new meaning with an interactive map that lets users describe smells they have encountered.

Members of the “Nioibu” or Smell Club have posted descriptions of more than 160 odours from around the world.

The scents range from “cats with halitosis” in Kamakura, Japan, to “verbena soap” in Paris. All that is missing, said a spokeswoman for Nioibu, is a “smelling function”.

Other scents that Nioibu’s “smellists” – as members are called – have posted include “steam coming out of a rice cooker” and “used socks in the summer”.

Phew!