On our desk this week - 3

MSI StarCam 370i

We've all been there haven't we? Late at night, a gorgeous woman back home, and she decides she wants to get all Paris Hilton with you. But wait! You don't have a video camera with an infra-red nightlight! How else could you reenact the debauchery of society's favourite love-to-hate-her girl?

Well, thank goodness then that MSI have come up with a webcam that sports infra-red lighting so that you can record video in the dark. MSI package some home security-type software, so that the webcam can pick up movement and record details of what's going on in your room with the lights off... just before the computer it's connected to gets nicked, possibly.

Of course, there are numerous uses for an infra-red webcam. These can include, according to a quick straw poll at bit-tech Towers:

• Paris-Hilton-o-vision
  
• Recording burglars
  
• Hot cam chat when mum thinks you're in bed
  
• Your own Blair-Witch-Style spooky cam
  
• Making sure your sister doesn't go anywhere near your stash of whatever it is you horde

Of course, you could just use the StarCam as a common-or-garden webcam for MSN Messenger or whatever chat application takes your fancy.

The actual picture quality of the camera is pretty average, and isn't exactly on par with something top-notch like Apple's iSight. However, the iSight costs north of £100, and this is available for less than £20 all-told. For the price, the StarCam sports perfecty adequate picture quality.

The styling of the StarCam is pretty unique and cool, and I can't help but be reminded of those squid robots from the Matrix. On the side of the cam there is a 'snap-a-quick-jpeg' button, and a mic is also built into the top so your mic/cam combo only takes up one USB port. The StarCam sits on the end of a very bendy stand, meaning you can position it just perfectly to flatter all your best features.

All in all, a decent webcam at a good price. Whether you need the infra-red functionality will, we suspect, come down to your lifestyle.

Name: MSI StarCam 370i
Buy it from: Morgan Computers
Cost: £17
Verdict: A solid little webcam with a neat sense of style.