Now, many new gadgets are borrowing the idea of such an intuitive interface further, and soon users will be able to control computers, television sets, even cellphones with hand gestures alone.

'Everything will connect up. You'll just take it for granted. No longer will users have to bridge between devices and remember what's where,' Microsoft's Bill Gates had announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday.

Within a week, 3DV Systems carried out a demonstration in which users stood in front of a large screen and controlled a Windows computer with hand gestures: thumb left to go left, index finger right to go right, victory sign for 'enter'.

JVC, also known as Victor Company of Japan Ltd, demonstrated a prototype TV with controls based on the same idea: gestures and sounds like snaps and claps that set the TV on or off, control volume or change the channel.

The prospect of never again having to search the sofa for a remote is sure to be welcome in many homes, but the traditional fight over the remote could become worse: imagine two kids engaged in a sign-language duel to control the set.

In another demo, when a 3DV employee did boxing motions, an avatar on the screen in front of him mimicked the movement of his entire upper body - quite a step up from the boxing game of the Wii, which only senses the movement of the controllers.

A particularly popular Wii game is bowling, where the user swings the remote as if it were a ball.

Two phones that hit the Japanese market in May include bowling games that work the same way, but without the Wii: Swing the whole cellphone and you launch the ball down the lane shown on the screen.

The motion-sensing technology in those phones comes from GestureTek, based in Sunnyvale, California.

While the Wii's remote uses a combination of tiny mechanical springs and a camera to sense motion, GestureTek uses only cameras - quite conveniently, since most cellphones and quite a few laptops already come with cameras.

GestureTek's technology is already found on some Verizon Wireless cellphones, which contain a game where the user can roll a ball through a maze by tilting the phone.

Another application is the EyeToy for Sony's PlayStation 2, which lets you play simple games by moving in front of the camera.

The technology isn't just for fun: it can be healthy too. Mr Francis MacDougall, GestureTek's chief technology officer, said the company has run studies of stroke patients playing a snowboarding game by moving in front of a camera and found it improved their balance.

ASSOCIATED PRESS