Surfers take the wheel

A computer chip manufacturer wants you to surf the information highway - even if you are cruising on the motorway.

Intel, which makes the Pentium microprocessor, yesterday teamed up with France's Peugeot-Citroen SA at the Frankfurt car show to show a car loaded with voice-controlled personal computer gear that could retrieve electronic mail, tap the Internet for news, spit out traffic updates or even play digital movies for the kids in the back seat.

Ron Smith, of the Intel group said: "I drive 20 minutes to work. It would be nice to selectively download news about certain work-related countries, financial markets, or industries." In-car Internet would also have some value to police, if your car is stolen. They could use the electronics to locate the car and shut down the electronic engine management system. If you're in an accident, the airbag could alert the system to automatically call for help.