Shanghai Daily news

LCD screens are out of date. Every wall, desk and even eye glasses can be turned into touchable screens.

In the office of the future, presentations and meetings will be much easier and "greener" - you can just copy your report image projected on the table, make as many copies as you want and "toss" them right in front colleagues with a hand gesture. No papers, no waste.

Four well-known companies, recommended services suppliers for World Expo Shanghai 2010, together staged a workshop, "United Factory," to demonstrate possibilities.

"The e-era will soon be gone, now we are welcoming the u-era - the ubiquitous era - in which, people can have instant interaction with computers everywhere," said Hu Jun, general manager of Zhangjiang Leapidea Multimedia. He spoke at the workshop at the China International Industry Fair.

The changes in interactivity are revolutionary, said Hu. Some concepts exhibited in the workshop might be utilized at the Expo.

The three other members of the group are Shanghai Technology Convention and Exhibition Co Ltd (STCEC), Crystal CG, and Shanghai Syma-Expo Limited - all have their own specialties.

STCEC is in charge of organizing, Leapidea is good at technology, Crystal CG helps the Expo with multimedia content presentation, and Syma has rich experiences in pavilion construction

"We are in different industries, but by gathering in a cooperative way, rather than being merged into one company, we will be able to provide one-station all-round services to World Expo participants," said Kings Chau, assistant general manager of Syma.