Win a personal look at Google's wearable computer

Real life is getting a dose of "Star Trek."

Google has debuted its new wearable computer, called Glass, which looks like a cross between eyeglasses without lenses and the visor worn by Geordi La Forge aboard the Starship Enterprise. It could be yours for a tweet — and $1,500.

To determine who can buy the gadget first, Google's Project Glass announced a contest on Twitter, asking people "to help shape the future of Glass."

Participants must publicly post in 50 or fewer words what they would do with Glass on Google+ or Twitter, with the hashtag #ifihadglass.

The contest ends Wednesday night. Google will start notifying winners in mid-March.

Those who decide to buy the device have to attend a special event in New York City, Los Angeles or San Francisco to pick up their Google Glass.

Then what? Well, Google hopes the users of the early "Explorer" edition will reveal the best ways to use and improve Glass.

The gadget, controlled through voice commands, can take pictures and video, send messages and host video chats, look up information and give directions, among other things.

The company posted a 2-minute video with suggested uses, including a ballet dancer recording a performance from eye-level perspective and a tourist in Thailand asking Glass to "say delicious in Thai" as he eats a noodle dish on a boat floating in a canal.

The stylishness of Glass is up for debate, and a reporter for technology website the Verge who tried the gadget said he got plenty of funny looks while wearing it on the street.

As for the "Star Trek" character known for his computer visor vision, LeVar Burton, the actor who played him, offered this thought via Twitter: "#ifihadglass it would be a downgrade — Geordi La Forge." □