Olympus, IBM Make Wearable Computer

TOKYO (AP) _ The monitor is a headset with a virtual screen that fits over the eye. The hardware, a pocketbook-sized box controlled by three buttons.

Sound futuristic? Japanese camera-maker Olympus and the Japanese unit of IBM came out with a prototype of the ``Wearable PC'' on Friday and said the gadget could hit stores soon.

The companies jointly developed the machine for those who can't be bothered to carry laptops around and want to wear their computers instead.

The 13-ounce computer has a pentium processor, 64 megabytes of memory, and runs on Windows.

A banana-shaped handle with a mouse and right-left click buttons is used to select icons in the ``Eye Trek'' virtual screen. The mini-monitor flips out from the headset and covers one eye like a monocle.

The Wearable PC doesn't have a keyboard yet, but ``we may develop that in the future,'' said Olympus spokesman Shinichiro Murakami.

Murakami said the companies will decide next year when to launch the computer.

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