Panasonic's interactive whiteboard

Using chalk on the blackboard has always been dusty, and the fumes from pens used on whiteboards have always been a bit smelly.

So Panasonic took these points into consideration - added a lot of technology - and came up with the interactive whiteboard, as did others like Sanyo.

On show at Gitex, interactive whiteboards are a lot more than just dressed-up overhead projectors.

Messages written on the whiteboard screen, when using its 'special' electronic pen, are transmitted in real time to a connected personal computer.

This means that notes written on the screen during meetings and brainstorming sessions are saved straight onto a file.

Both Panasonic's and Sanyo's interactive whiteboards are priced from about Dh7,000.

But it is Panasonic who has taken the extra step and introduced the same technology to be used on a plasma screen.

According to Tamer Abdul Rahman, sales engineer, Panasonic, the plasma screen - which is priced from Dh55,000 -can be used for video purposes as well.