WHEN stunt master Jackie Chan kisses a woman on screen it can spark a wave of suicides across Asia.

For those convinced this is a bizarre wind-up, try thinking back to the last time Chan stripped down for a love scene. Exactly!

Luckily there won't be any puckering-up in Chan's latest action flick, Shanghai Knights the long-awaited sequel to the hugely popular Wild West comedy Shanghai Noon.

Chan rejoins partner-in-solving-crime Owen Wilson, for a second-round of thrills, spills and death-defying stunts but this time the destination is Victorian London.

Speaking about the movie Chan said the pressure of dreaming-up new stunts and coping with suicide driven-threat fans could sometimes drive him wild.

"Long time ago, 20 years ago, as soon as I have a girlfriend a girl jumped on to the subway to commit suicide and another girl in front of my office took poison," he said.

"This is why in my movies I don't have kissing scenes. If I have a kissing scene the girls cry and howl in the theatre in Asia.

"But now, slowly, slowly it is ok because all the fans are growing up and bringing their children to see my movies.

"I have a lot of injuries in every movie. But for me when I don't have to go to the hospital then it's not really an injury.

"Once we were doing a scene, Owen says "Jackie do you think this is safe?" and I said "yes". Then Owen says "It's just a tiny wire, do you think it could break?" and I said "no".

"Then I told him to stop talking because he kept asking me all sorts of questions that made me scared."

The camaraderie between the two Hollywood actors is evident in their mutual admiration for each other's achievements.

There is even early talk about a third sequel Shanghai Dawn with Egypt earmarked as a potential filming location.

Chan, who has been in the movie business for more than 30 years, reckons his time in action films could be coming to an end.

He said: "I want to be an actor. I want to be a Robert De Niro, a pure actor. I'm becoming a miracle because I am still doing action/comedy."

Chan is currently on the Thai set of his next film Around The World In 80 Days while Owen Wilson will play a star role with Ben Stiller in the forthcoming blockbuster Starksy and Hutch.

Wilson, whose brother Luke played a starring role in Charlie's Angels, will also make a cameo appearance in Chan's next movie.

Shanghai Knights sees Chan return as Chon Wang a man on a mission to avenge the death of his estranged father.

The revenge-plot on a Chinese rebel leads to London, where a masterful conspiracy to murder the Royal Family is uncovered.

Shanghai Knights opens in cinemas nationwide from today.