Microsoft iLoo plan goes down the pan

Microsoft's MSN division has said that the controversial internet-enabled toilet it has researched will not be built.

In a confusing set of events, MSN issued a press release on 30 April claiming that Microsoft was developing a portable toilet called the iLoo. But Microsoft in the US later disowned the story.

The press release described a space-age convenience with a wireless keyboard and an extending height-adjustable plasma screen in front of the seat. The iLoo was to debut at festivals this summer in the UK.

In a statement, MSN UK confirmed that the story had not been a hoax but was part of its strategy to bring the internet to as many people in the UK as possible "and encourage debate about how the internet can affect our lives now and in the future".

MSN said the iLoo was "a serious concept that came about after the success of MSN internet bench", and was properly researched to concept stage with product designers and specialist manufacturers to see how people in the UKwould react to it.

The iLoo was always meant to be a one-off pilot, not a major manufacturing project, MSN maintained. But because there was "some misunderstanding" about the context of the initiative along the way, "it will not be built", the company said.