Computer programmer at age 4?

Microsoft unveiled its latest set of innovations this week, which included a game to teach 4-year-old children computer programming and a "telescope" programme that enables computer users to navigate the universe.

In an attempt to stimulate children's interest in computer programming, the company has developed the Xbox game, where kids can programme a robot in a simulated world to interact, travel among various objects created by them, and even eat a virtual apple.

"There is an ongoing and deepening crisis in computer science," said Microsoft Research's vice president Rick Rashid. "Our goal is to stem the tide by showing young kids the magic of software programming."

"It's very much like playing a game," Rashid said, adding children as young as four years of age can play the game.

Microsoft's telescope programme turns the personal computer into a sort of a powerful telescope by drawing on tens of millions of digital images of stars, galaxies and quasars from Sloan Digital Sky Survey, an ambitious astronomical project started several years ago to map a large part of the Universe.

"What we have done is to give people the ability to become digital astronauts. You can explore deep space form the comfort of your living room," Rashid said.

Researchers plan to add rich media narrative to the images to create compelling learning experiences. "These will be tantamount to guided tours of the universe," Rashid said.

Then there is the product called "Mix", which is like a high-tech scrapbook that pulls data from many sources -- different Web sites, the computer's hard drive and databases -- and integrates the data into one document that can be easily shared with friends, family members or co-workers.

"Think of Mix as a kind of high-tech, living scrapbook," said Rashid. "You can create a page that has digital pictures of your family, e-mails you exchange with family members, and links to places you love to visit together."