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How do you fancy working in the ultimate wireless office? One where you control everything in the room with your thoughts?

Think of the possibilities: you can dictate a letter, attach it to an email and send it without having to say a word or even lift a finger. And when you get home, you don't have to hunt for the TV remote-control, just sit down and think the telly on.

Will it ever be a reality?

If tests by Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems in the USA go well, thought control could become a reality. Scientists there are already performing clinical trials on human volunteers for Braingate, a brain-computer interface which will enable people to operate computers and other applications with the power of thought. It could be on the market as soon as 2007.

BrainGate works by attaching a small computer chip to neurons in the motor cortex of your brain (located just above your right ear). The company has already inserted them into monkeys who were then capable of moving the cursor on a computer screen.

Why do we need it?

Inserting a plug directly into your brain may sound freaky but Cyberkinetics has a laudable objective: the technology will be used to help people with physical disabilities to gain control of their bodies.

Remember Luke and Anakin Skywalkers' mechanical hands in the Star Wars films or how about Doc Oc in Spider-Man 2? In the future, we might not only control computers with our minds - it could be our bodies, too.

Cyberkinetics' technology could be revolutionary. It could lead to a new generation of sophisticated artificial limbs with greater articulation. It could even help people who have been crippled from birth to walk.