Digital newspapers by 2008

Imagine unfurling the morning paper to find a flexible electronic display streaming the latest news - this fantasy could become a reality in just two years.

The technology behind the so-called 'e-papers' could also be used for paperless printing, where you simply download a file onto a flexible screen instead of printing it out onto a piece of paper.

Photos of futuristic gadgets

Click here to see a prototype roll-up laptop, the secrets of BT's labs and Linux's Greenphone.

Herman Hauser, co-founder of venture capital company Amadeus Capital Partners, told silicon.com there are no technical challenges left for e-papers and hopes to have a factory producing flexible electronic screens by 2008.

Hauser added paperless printing "can save the world's trees" because it hugely reduces paper usage.

A technology called 'plastic electronics' has been harnessed by boffins to produce flexible electronic displays, combining electronics and print technology on a supple screen.