Imagine being able to play Donkey Konga without the need for the bongos, or play virtual tag online without the need for a keyboard, joystick or Wii nunchuk. The technonauts at Engineered Fibre Structures at the University of Manchester have come up with what could be the next big step in gaming: an electronic glove with a Bluetooth wireless connection that lets the wearer control and talk to the gizmos around them.

The patented device is made from soft nylon or acrylic material and stretches over your hand just like any other glove. Underneath the fabric are conductive pathways that are connected to sensors located in the fingertips of the glove, so when you make a connection (like say putting your index and middle fingers together in a line), a command is registered. Remember Tom Cruise shuffling pages and files around in the air with something like this in “Minority Report”? Now you’ve got the picture. In fact, the possibilities are limitless, or as Engineered Fibre Structures likes to say, can be “used in patient rehabilitation in healthcare, as a controller in video games, as a computer interface, and as a communications device, for industrial, security and military application.”

The appeal for gamers is easy to see. Instead of needing to press a button to fire your gun, instead you snap your fingers or, better yet, make a finger gun and blast your opponent away. Note to Nintendo: this would make the best Wii Christmas gift for 2008, so go work out a deal with the EFS people soon, alright?