There is something extremely eerie about 3D video telephony judging from my own limited experience, a few years back at the Cebit show in Germany. I turned a corner and suddenly found myself talking to a man 300 miles away.

It was obvious that the life-sized 3D image in front of me was not a physically present person, but all the visual cues that give us a sensation of 3D person were there. The effect was startling - far greater than the difference between mono and stereo audio - and showed how much we miss in 2D images.

Now comes news of a 3D webcam aimed at the consumer market. The British-designed Minonu has just been shortlisted for the US Consumer Electronics Show award. It will cost less than $100 (£59), and comes with five pairs of bi-colour spectacles for 3D viewing.

It can be used with Windows Live Messenger, Skype, AOL Instant Messenger, OoVoo and  other video conferencing packages. It will also act as a normal 2D webcam.

PDT, the company behind it, is looking for distributors worldwide. See here for picture gallery.