PEOPLE who want the wonders of modern technology with the elegance of old-fashioned wood are being targeted by an Oxford company, writes Maggie Hartford.

Abledata, based at Oxford Science Park, has put together a wood-effect flat-screen computer, designed for people who want modern workstations without ugly grey boxes and a tangle of wires.

Managing director John Culpin said: "Everyone who has seen it has been bowled over.

"You can move the keyboard and computer out of the way into a drawer and it just looks like a desk portrait with a wooden frame a yacht skipper, who was explaining the problem of finding waterproof, compact on-board navigation systems, which need to look good in a luxurious environment where space is a real problem.

He says: "Computers have become a necessary evil - everyone has them. If you make something more elegant, then people will pay more."

Now he is hoping to make a strategic alliance with a Japanese computer company to produce the computers with a normal guarantee. He estimates that the adaptions add an extra £500 to the cost.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.