They feature state of the art security systems and cameras everywhere. But the problem now is protecting yourself from the prying eyes of neighbours.

Gated communities are gaining traction worldwide, and the fundamental selling point seems to be fear.

In two of Victoria's gated communities security is a key selling point. Mark Brayshaw heads up the security side of things at both Sandhurst Club and Sanctuary Lakes, where life means big brother is watching - by invitation.

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“Our feedback from residents is that this is a really important feature of living in our communities, and they know that 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the guys in here and out on the street are looking after them, so yes it is very important,” Brayshaw said.

“In the event of a crisis, we're there for them. But there's a real sense of community that our security personnel assist with. All our research suggests that before, during, and after living here, the security and the sense of peace of mind is really, really important.”

Gated communities have mushroomed in numbers in Saudi Arabia, to accommodate westerners and their families, working in the rich oil industry. There, security involves a lot more - when terrorism is a concern, marksmen and even armoured cars, patrol the gated community streets.

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But most are also based on buying a slice of snobbery, middle and upper class status. In India it's an exclusive way to escape the noise, dust and stench. In a city where 1,000 people share the same toilet, a gated community life is a pure status symbol.

Pam Walker lives at Sandhurst Club. Living alone at 73, she skipped the snobbery, but bought a slice of security, together with a panic button.

Melbourne Universities Associate Professor in Urban Planning Dr Carolyn Whitzman believes 'fear' marketing is creating an issue of itself.

“I don't want to make fun of people who are very concerned about their safety, and I also don't think you can legislate against people's individual security systems, or the way that security systems are run. But I think it’s really problematic that we're playing on people's fears in that way,” Dr Whitzman said.

“Melbourne's rates of stranger assaults aren't anywhere near the stranger assaults that are going on in the US. There have been a couple of studies on gated communities in the US showing that rates of child abuse or domestic violence are just as high as they are outside, which of course would make sense, and those are by far the most common sources of violence in our society,” she explained.

Security has gone as far as number plate identification, and time coding cars entering and exiting from the estates.

Every year more gated communities are being built around the world, and the man behind Sanctuary Lakes and Sandhurst now wants a slice of the action beyond our shores.

Bad behaviour between neighbours wouldn't be tolerated in a gated community – and foulmouthed neighbours would be told to leave.

But Dr Whitzman says it seems that a bit of ‘siege factor’ is creeping in.

“I think it is very easy to breed fear, and it’s very hard to get away from fear in this society because there's so much coverage of violent incidents that occur.

“You know if there's a stranger abduction of a child, it’s beamed across the world, but our rates of stranger abduction have not increased in the last 30 or 40 years. We're much more concerned about it than we used to be, and that's the problem - fear itself.”