UK minister's virtual Sydney reality

in brief The United Kingdom's minister of state for the environment Phil Woolas paid a virtual trip to Australia yesterday as he used telepresence technology to speak at a Sydney conference.

The minister presented to an audience of around 150 at the Climate Change Summit, according to a statement distributed by videoconferencing vendor Polycom, which pitched in to help with the event, along with partners Easynet and Telstra.

"Mr Woolas saved an estimated 60 hours of travel time and 6.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions on his air flight alone," the statement said.