British company plans to turn TVs into PCs

LONDON - A British start-up company that aims to break the so-called "digital divide" will this week unveil new technology to convert standard TV sets into PCs.

TechDawn has developed a set-top box, together with an infra-red keyboard, allowing users to access word processing and spreadsheet functions, email and the internet via their TVs.

The company estimates that the equipment will cost under £200 ($670) per box to produce.

The British Government wants to give free laptops or PCs to those who cannot afford them, but such schemes have been set back by high costs and by computers intended for free distribution ending up on the black market.

A recent study by the Economic and Social Research Council found that four out of five middle-class children have a computer at home, compared with just 54 per cent of their working-class peers.

TechDawn has made initial approaches to the Government about its TV-to-PC technology.

Its chief executive, Neil Cloughley, also intends to approach digital TV suppliers such as Sky with the aim of including the technology in standard set-top boxes.

The system stores all data in outside servers, so that once work has been saved via the TV, a user can access any of his or her files via the internet.

Sun Microsystems' Star Office Suite, a rival to Microsoft Office, is currently the only package that can be used on the system, but in future it will be possible to use any applications and also to play games.

The product is currently at the prototype stage and trials are due to be conducted in around 1,000 homes in the coming months.

TechDawn is meanwhile looking for over £2 million ($6.7 million) in funds from venture capital houses.

- INDEPENDENT