Sing while you're swimming

Let's face it - swimming can be pretty dull. But the days of doing laps hearing nothing but underwater swishy noises that sound like Shane McGowan being flushed down the loo may be numbered.

Brunel University graduate Sam James has developed what he calls the 'world's first underwater MP3 player' called Soundwaves.

The device is attached to the swimmer's goggles near the temples, and channels sound waves safely through the skull to the inner ear, bypassing the outer ear.

Water babes and lads will have access to several hours of tunes while they splash around, with Soundwaves' 128Mb of memory. And coaches of serious athletes could even download some of their motivational wisdom for their students to listen to in races.

James, who has received a £1,000 innovation award from AOL Broadband, reckons Soundwaves could soon be on the market.

'My ambition,' he says, 'is for it to be a regular feature at your local swimming pool in a few years.' Surely it could be the best invention for swimmers since the chemical in pools which turns red when someone has a sneaky whizz.