LOS ANGELES - HERE'S a mind-bending idea: The US military is paying scientists to study ways to read people's thoughts.

The hope is that the research could someday lead to a gadget capable of translating the thoughts of soldiers who suffered brain injuries in combat or even stroke patients in hospitals. But the research also raises concerns that such mind-reading technology could be used to interrogate the enemy.

Armed with a US$4 million grant from the Army, scientists are studying brain signals to try to decipher what a person is thinking and to whom the person wants to direct the message.

The project is a collaboration among researchers at the University of California, Irvine; Carnegie Mellon University; and the University of Maryland.

The scientists use brain wave-reading technology known as electroencephalography, or EEG, which measures the brain's electrical activity through electrodes placed on the scalp.

It works like this: Volunteers wear an electrode cap and are asked to think of a word chosen by the researchers, who then analyze the brain activity.

In the future, scientists hope to develop thought-recognition software that would allow a computer to speak or type out a person's thought.

'To have a person think in a free manner and then figure out what that is, we're years away from that,' said lead researcher Michael D'Zmura, who heads UC Irvine's cognitive sciences department.

Mr D'Zmura said such a system would require extensive training by people trying to send a message and dismisses the notion that thoughts can be forced out.

'This will never be used in a way without somebody's real, active cooperation,' he said. -- AP