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Being on call 24 hours a day could soon become easier if a little bit too immediate. Researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle, are developing a contact lens containing metal circuitry and light-emitting diodes that communicates with mobile devices.

Forget casually glancing down at your Blackberry to see if you have a new e-mail message or an incoming call, the new lens will literally project images in front of your eyes. All this portable high-tech wizardry will either make you feel hugely in-demand and on Her Majesty's Secret Service or like a hunted animal, depending on how much you enjoy being plugged into the corporate machine.   

The lenses are now being tested on rabbits according to BusinessWeek (March 3)  - which raises more questions than it answers - but not for lack of human volunteers. "What surprised us are the dozens of people calling to volunteer to test them," Babak Parviz, the lead researcher, says. 

The US government is backing the project that could have military applications such as directing soldiers' movements via GPS units.

Credit: This image of the least suitable candidate for contact lenses comes from Island Med Student