An Indian scientist and his team have discovered a new family of magnetic molecules that could revolutionise computer storage devices.

The organic nickel compounds created by Rajsapan Jain and his colleagues at the University of Victoria, Canada, display magnetic properties spontaneously at room temperature.

Jain said their find has immense potential as magnets, in one form or the other, are used by people in several daily tasks.

"We now have the ability to modify the the structure of the native organic that will help tune high-temperature magnetic properties and render soluble end products," Jain told PTI.

Jain, who discovered these magnetic molecules while pursuing post-doctoral research at UVIC, said the findings can be harnessed for several custom applications like computer disc drives.

"Our results for the first time demonstrate that high temperature magnetic ordering in organic-based materials coupled with product stability can be achieved with reliability," he said.

The magnets are stable in air and retain their properties in ambient conditions -- attributes that favour standard end uses.

The new molecules themselves could not be formed into plastics because they clump into loose powders that do not dissolve. Researchers have to find out how these materials are formed, and ways to control the process to turn the compounds into pliable magnetic plastics.