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The device uses a small processor and two infrared sensors to monitor eye movements by observing the skin at the temples.

An iPod can be started or stopped by closing both eyes tight for one second, while blinking one eye on its one will skip forwards or backwards through a playlist.

"Normally you blink

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in an energy-saving manner, very quickly and lightly, but you would close your eyes more firmly to operate the device," says the designer of the Kome Kami Switch, Kazuhiro Taniguchi, to AFP.

"There are some people who are incapable of winking on one eye. For those, we can program the system to give a command when they blink twice in a fast sequence."

Taniguchi, a researcher at Osaka University's Graduate School of Engineering Science, suggests that the device may prove useful to those who want to listen to music while rock climbing or driving.

We suggest, however, that it is a good idea to keep your eyes open when behind the wheel.

The Kome Kami Switch can be adapted to work with a range of devices, claims Taniguchi, including televisions and other electronic devices. However, it is likely that computers are too complex to easily control by blinking alone.