A laser image of a keyboard beams on to the table. Infrared and a small camera from a small box track the tapping of each "key" and the letters magically appear on the handheld device. It is a gizmo that would hearten anyone who has struggled with a finger-fumbling portable keyboard.

This virtual keyboard was developed by an Israeli company called VKB in May 2000, just before the global high-tech boom went into a nose-dive. Almost five years later, the company has an array of partnerships and the device is making its way into the European and US markets, thanks in part to revived investment in the high-tech sector.