Google has designed and tested a system which listens to the show you are watching to deliver personalized information or advertisement. The "mass personalization" system can identify a programme from as little as five seconds of sound.

Google researchers believe it could also be used to monitor audience size or create social networks around viewers watching the same show.

"The system could keep up with users while they channel surf, presenting them with a real-time forum about a live political debate one minute and an ad-hoc chat room for a sporting event in the next," wrote Google researchers Michele Covell and Shumeet Baluja on the Google research blog.

"All of this would be done without users ever having to type or to even know the name of the program or channel being viewed"

"Mass-media channels typically provide limited content to many people," the researchers wrote. "The Web provides vast amounts of information, most of interest to few."

The core of the system works in a similar way to the Shazam music service that identifies music played into a mobile phone and then sends the listener a text message with the name of the track.

Google stresses that there are still technical hurdles to overcome and that it may never be launched.

This, if available, would allow real time chat and allow fans to discuss and comment on shows as they are broadcast.

Other applications include providing broadcasters with accurate, real-time viewing figures or allowing viewers to create video bookmarks of their favourite shows.

Google hopes that retailers and advertisers would bid for television segments for their adverts in the same way they bid for keywords (AdWords) on the Google search engine or partner content sites today.

via BBC

What next? Google will listen to family quarrels and offer advertisements of divorce lawyers?