Washington: Can you imagine a machine that will serve as a computer, television, telephone and videophone and cost just $ 250?

A researcher of Indian-origin has developed a PCtvt, a wireless network personal computer targeted at four billion people around the world who live on less than $ 2,000 a year.

Raj Reddy, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University at Pittsburgh, plans to unveil his new project at the end of the year. He feels it is possible to bring information technology within the reach of impoverished communities without depending on philanthropy, a media report said.

As his low-cost computer doubles as a TV and a DVD player, Reddy believes he will be able to end the digital divide in developing countries, the 'New York Times' reported.

He says his device can find a market in developing countries, particularly those with large populations who cannot read, because the machine can be controlled by a simple TV remote control, the report said.

Reddy has backing for his project from Microsoft and Trigem, the South Korean computer maker.

He is working on it in partnership with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) and researchers at the University of California at Berkeley.