WEB BRIEFINGS: Cue:CAT signals convergence of print and 'Net

<p>A "Cue:CAT" device has been launched into the North American </p><p>market, heralding what could be the start of the convergence of magazine </p><p>publishing and the Internet. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The device, which effectively replaces the mouse, has huge implications </p><p>for advertisers and content providers, and if successful could soon be </p><p>making a debut in the Asia-Pacific region. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Developed by Digital:Convergence - working in conjunction with Forbes </p><p>magazine, Young & Rubicam, A.H. Belo Corp and RadioShack - Cue:CAT. has </p><p>the ability to scan barcodes in ads and at the end of editorial texts </p><p>and take readers straight to a related Web page. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Forbes is trying out the new technology in the United States via the </p><p>September issue of Forbes.com, and is encouraging readers to test drive </p><p>the device, by giving away Cue:CATs to all its subscribers free of </p><p>charge. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Forbes New York-based vice-president for corporate communications Monie </p><p>Begley Feurey said Cue:CAT would take print closer to the digital </p><p>level. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"You simply swipe the barcode and you go straight to a Web page to get </p><p>more information about the ad or editorial you saw in the magazine. You </p><p>just click and you're there. There's no need to type between 10 and 20 </p><p>or more characters," she told MEDIA during a recent trip to Hong </p><p>Kong. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ms Begley Feurey said the best feature of the device was that Cue:CAT </p><p>takes the reader to a specific Web page related to the ad or article and </p><p>not to a home page from which the reader has to navigate to the relevant </p><p>information. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>