Bangkok Post, Thailand, Arnat Leemakdej.

Aug. 3--Previous columns have discussed new channels for Internet access besides personal computers. They include the mobile telephone, game machines such as PlayStation or Cybiko, and the personal digital assistant (PDA).

However, the Internet will become the norm only when people feel that it is ubiquitous, similar to the way they perceive electricity or telephones.

Another channel we cannot ignore is the household electrical appliance. Readers may have heard about the prototype refrigerator with an Internet connection: it's been a popular marketing gimmick at exhibitions and some producers believe it can find a market as consumer lifestyles change.

Faith Popcorn, the famous US trend-spotter, once predicted that people would spend more time at home -- "cocooning" was her word. If this is really the case, the use of the Internet through home appliances is a quite promising area.

New applications or software must be developed to suit any such device. For example, the format to display web site information on a personal computer is different from that used on a wireless device. The same will surely hold true for the new generation of electrical appliance. However, the most significant adjustment will not relate to the technology itself but to the business concept of the products involved.

I foresee the possibility that these products, in particular the home electrical appliances that we know today, might be converted into services. Take the refrigerator again for an example.

The supermarket giant Tesco recently teamed up with home builders to offer built-in refrigerators for new homes. The fridge, which has frozen, chilled and room temperature compartments, will have a combination lock on the outside door.