THE wraps have come off a new showroom demonstrating the latest state-of-the-art equipment for the home.

Geraldine Smith, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, officially opened the Evolve Total Home Showroom, based at Newton Holme Farm, Whittington, near Kirkby Lonsdale.

She praised the 800 sq ft showroom, saying: "This is a high quality, high technology business in a rural setting and is exactly the type of business I want to succeed in my constituency."

PW Technologies of Hutton Roof is the firm behind the venture, which showcases a number of high-tech systems, including: l Two home theatre rooms with digital surround sound.

l Whole house audio systems, where music can be piped' around a house using keypads.

l Intelligent lighting controls, enabling all the lights in a house to be switched off by touching a single button.

l CCTV over the Internet so that a property can be viewed remotely on the web.

l Satellite broadband for rural homes and businesses.

Founded 18 months ago, PW Technologies is part of electrical contractors Park and Whiteley and aims to supply top quality but affordable home automation products and services for local house developers.

The firm, which employs five staff, has forged partnerships with a number of leading local developers, including Robert Hughes, Russell Armer, Dalesmoor Homes and Winter Build.

It also carries out installations for individual customers.

PW Technologies is the first UK installer and distributor appointed by Niko, one of Europe's leading integrated systems specialists, and Niko's export director Jacques Staelens flew from Brussels to attend the launch.

Nick Whiteley, technical manager and founder of PW Technologies, said: "The opening of our showroom is a major step forward for us and gives us the chance to talk to our customers in a relaxed and informal environment.

"We've wanted to create a place where a family can visit us and take as much time as they want."