The Internet fridge - here at last

The 'Internet Refridgerator' we've all been reading about is finally on the way. Finally, when you talk to your fridge, instead of staring at you in mute incomprehension, it will will answer back - letting you know amongst other things just how many calories there are in the meal you're thinking of cooking. What a relief.

Korean telecommunications and electronics giant LG Electronics expect to launch their range of Internet home appliances in the UK this October. Several rival companies will be on the market thereafter.

I thought fridges kept food cold
I sense you aren't excited about being able to download recipes from the Internet into your fridge, then work out what ingredients you need to buy, and order them from the supermarket - all from your desk, laptop or even your mobile phone.

The fridge will include a 15-inch LCD touchscreen, built-in microphone, digital camera, television, music player, virtual keyboard, videophone and electronic diary. You can check your e-mail. And, yes, a cold bit to keep the food fresh.

Why is the humble fridge getting this makeover
The fridge is just the centrepiece of what LG are calling the 'Home Network' - your air conditioning, the video recorder, microwave and washing machine will all be online too.

I can't say I'm tempted.
You probably will be, eventually. But at first, "The people we anticipate buying these products are... people in the high-income bracket," says a marketing manager from LG Electronics Australia, said at a media briefing in Sydney on Monday.

No kidding. The price on launch will be a decidedly cool £6,000.

Blind me with science.
The whole range of i-appliances will ideally run off ADSL broadband home connection. A Pentium III running at 100MHz with a 10Gb hard drive and 64Mb of RAM will power the fridge. A USB port will allow you to connect to your printer.

But... why
Because we can, would be the cynical response.

With the growth in online grocery shopping, hectic lifestyles and the culture of innovation, the 'home network' will be a fascinating guide to the kind of things people want from their technology. If every household wants one, that's quite a market.

Like so many other new products, we can expect the price to fall and demand to rise. One day you'll wonder how you ever did with out it.