October 2, 1998 (TOKYO) -- What would it be like to live in a digital society? Visitors to World PC Expo 98 are going back to the future in the Digital Space 21 corner, where the newest PC-related technologies and products are on display.

The corner is composed four zones, the House zone, the Office zone, the Mobile zone, and the SOHO zone. Actual houses or office rooms are set up inside each zone so that visitors are able to get firsthand knowledge of the products and concrete implementation of technologies.

One of the most interesting products on display in the House zone is the Internet refrigerator, an example of the unification of a home electrical appliance and a personal computer. The Internet refrigerator on display is a prototype produced by V Sync Technology. Mounted on the door or other parts of the refrigerator is a personal computer equipped with a voice recognition system and a touch panel. The product is expected to be commercialized with full-fledged functions for retrieving recipes or controlling home electrical appliances via a network.

Demonstrators showed how to look for recipes with the Internet refrigerator. A demonstrator would speak a phrase, such as "Delicious menu, please," which would cause a recipe or breakfast menu to appear on the display embedded in the surface of the refrigerator. Audience members were enthusiastic, some saying they hope to be able to use computers in their kitchens, or expressing surprise at the advanced level of the technology.

(Nikkei Events News)