A PERSONAL computer may be just the job for spreadsheets, community letters and games, but it could hardly be called an attractive piece of furniture.

A boring collection of grey or biege boxes, the PC was something to be hidden away, not shown off to the neighbours.

PlayStation 2 has started a trend towards electronic gadgets that look good. The PS2, with its sleek good looks, would not be out of place sitting next to an expensive hi-fi system.

This move has spread to the PC.

If you are feeling flush this Christmas, then TIME Computers has just the thing. The ultra-sleek TIME SlimScreen PC is the lean, futuristic model that everyone would love to get their hands on.

And the attraction goes deeper than looks too. This high-performance PC has impressive vital statistics with its 866MHz Intel Pentium III processor and 128Mb of SDRAM memory.

It's a self contained unit - no beige box to hide beneath the desk - and the ultra cute slim screen is finished in a very sexy brushed chrome effect.

More impressive still, the TIME SlimScreen PC includes a DVD-ROM player, which allows you to enjoy a movie and the latest multi-media software.

There's no problem in getting down to the serious stuff - the TIME Slimscreen PC comes with hardware such as 1.44Mb floppy drive, speakers, keyboard and mouse. It also comes bundled with software worth more than £1,000 including the latest Microsoft operating system, Windows Millennium and a Microsoft 2000 pack. This includes Word, the industry standard word processor - very handy.

The hard disk is a sizable 40GB, enough to make the Slimscreen a vital tool for large image manipulation, and the generous memory allocation should ensure things don't slow to a crawl.

All good things must come to an end, and in the Slimscreen's case it's the graphics chip which lets the side down. This machine is not a games player's delight. It uses the slow (and cheap) Intel 810e graphics system which is incapable of running the latest 3-D software.

If you are still interested, don't bother popping into your local TIME store. This cutie is only available via mail order on 0800 0721 601 for the hefty sum of £1,869 plus VAT.

For the money you could have a faster PC but it's debatable whether or not you could find a better looking one.

North Yorkshire-based gadget purveyor Tiger Electronics has launch a new kind of executive toy - a robot pal.

Chibibotto is a robot that will sets fingers tapping and pens drumming as people pat their latest desk top gadget to activate its on-screen animations, clock and alarm, songs and animated arms.

Each Chibibotto has an integrated LCD unit that allows animations to appear on screen. Chibibotto can appear playful, mischievous, moody, happy, sad. He'll let you know his mood by the face that he adopts for the day. Make Chibibotto angry and he will shake his arms.

Whatever the face, Chibibotto can wink, blink and shut his eyes to sleep. He can take on the guise of animals. Watch out for fish, pandas, rabbits and crabs.

Chibibotto is useful too. Activate his clock mode and you have a real time clock and can set an alarm for a wake-up call, or a reminder for a special event or occasion.

And the price of this interactive annoyance? £12.99 from all good electronics retailers.