This fascinating experiment is indicative of the real networked future, when buildings and companies will talk to you as you walk by.  This is makes VRM the more essential, because I don’t want to be bothered by every building as I walk by.

TOKYO – Downtown strollers looking for directions, store guides or historical tidbits will be able to get an earful without talking to anyone – thanks to 1,200 computer chips embedded around Tokyo’s Ginza shopping district.

The information can be heard through earphones that pick up signals from chips stuck in cement, lampposts and subway-station ceilings. The 1 billion yen ($8.7 million) government-backed Tokyo Ubiquitous Technology Project spans several blocks.

University of Tokyo professor Ken Sakamura says the effort gives a glimpse into the future, when such chips will become so widespread that government offices and private businesses will use them to zap information to passers-by.

Source: Chattering chips enliven Tokyo stroll – Yahoo! News