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Surface is a coffee table sized box, with a 30in display where hand movements over a projected image are tracked by infra-red cameras, allowing people to select and move objects on the screen.

But Microsoft's Entertainment & Devices Division president, Robbie Bach was not always confident with idea.

"I probably thought about killing it every year it was in development," admitted Bach, in an interview with Cnet. "I didn't have a clear line of sight on what the business model was.

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I was always asking myself whether we could afford to keep it."

In particular, he was worried about the size.

"We don't want to be in the furniture business", he said, adding that Microsoft is working on a smaller model for consumers.

Bach said that Microsoft founder Bill Gates was always a big fan of the technology. Gates recently said that he would like to turn every surface into a touchscreen. Genuine touchscreen technology is also likely to be a key feature of Windows 7, due in 2010.

Surface is currently being introduced in the Sheraton hotel group's Harrah casinos and in AT&T shops, at around $10,000 a table.

[photo: Microsoft Surface = Tabletop PacMan by Matthew Haggerty]