Posted: 19th Feb, 2004 By: MarkJ
It may seem wacky, yet UK cable operator and ISP,
Telewest, is currently testing a service that may allow you to smell the fragrances of a flower while shopping at a florist online:
The cable company is testing a new technology, called ScentMail, that lets you send and receive aromas while surfing the internet.
You plug a dome device into one of the serial ports of your PC, which has a disposable cartridge containing 20 aromas that can be mixed to create up to 60 different smells. You can send and receive codes to the domes, which spray the liquid smells into the air around the PC.
According to Telewest, ScentMail could create "wafts of fresh bread and fruit" as you make your way around an online supermarket or the smell of suntan lotion and the sea as you take a virtual tour on a holiday site.It's an unusual, yet captivating idea, although at £250 for the device you might be better off getting a better computer monitor to enhance the visual experience instead.
One can only imagine the horrors that might occur while visiting some of the Internets less.. hmm.. moral sites =). More @
Web-User.