SINGAPORE : It may still be far from the likes of the Matrix, but Singapore's landmark project to connect the island's computing systems into a super network could open doors to endless possibilities.

International engineering and life sciences companies have already expressed interest in taking part in the project.

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From improving high tech satellite monitoring pictures to cutting down the time it takes to produce an animated movie - all part of the promise of the things the National Grid Pilot Platform hopes to achieve.

Minister for Trade and Industry Brigadier-General George Yeo said: "It will link computers, sensors and other IT resources into a single virtual pool or market which can be shared by geographically dispersed users. In this way, the system becomes much more than the sum of its parts."

Several multinational companies like Rolls Royce and BAE Systems, which require super computing resources for engineering and design processes, have signed up for the project.

And it can even help develop cures for diseases like SARS which require complex modelling.

But the fear, of course, is what happens if security is breached.

"You have police, you have ostracism, so this is something we got to learn as we go along. I think the grid itself must have a culture. But how all this will evolve, we don't know now. This is a very exciting experiment that is taking place in Singapore," said BG Yeo.

The project costs tens of millions of dollars and 90% of the funds come from the government.

The authorities are upbeat that the private sector will help to share the cost of developing the grid, which they say, might eventually allow Internet users to tap on the power of the grid. - CNA