Check your e-mail at the fridge

Remember when it was a novelty to fill a glass with ice without opening the freezer door? No trays to empty and fill. No cold chill. Just push that glass into the icemaking gizmo and keep an eye on the avalanche of cubes falling into it.

In 2002, you will be able to do a lot more than dispense ice from your refrigerator door. Thanks to LG Electronics, a Korean company, you could access the Internet, send e-mail, or take pictures from a computer screen on your fridge.

"It's the only home appliance that's on for 24 hours a day, so why not make use of that energy?" said LG's Sonny Marak at the International Housewares Show in Chicago.

But don't expect the home office to relocate to the refrigerator anytime soon. Besides the lack of comfort, it'll be a tad too easy to reach in for a slice of pie - though the diet police will surely come up with a clever screen-saver to ward off temptation.

For $9,999, this snazzy innovation could be yours. But don't sell the laptop just yet.

(c) Copyright 2001. The Christian Science Publishing Society