Improved security for your computer is all the rage these days and NEC is out to impress you (and attain your patronage) by going the facial recognition route. The company has just announced plans to bring out two new laptop lines for the Japanese market that integrate NEC’s “Face Pass” technology to keep strangers out of your files.

The LaVie C and LaVie L series use the laptop’s 2.0 megapixel camera and its NeoFace software to recognize your mug when you try and log on to the machine. NeoFace can ascertain the physical differences between your face and someone else’s by measuring the distance from your eyes to specific features on your face.

This kind of biometric security isn’t new, having been employed by both corporate, private and federal security personnel for a while now. Supposedly the software is smart enough to still recognize you even if you’re wearing glasses, a hat or you’ve added/removed facial hair.

Under the hood is a Core 2 Duo chip in the LaVie C or a choice between the Core 2 Duo or a Celeron chip in the LaVie L. The LaVie C also comes with a a Radeon X1600 and one of Sony’s Blu-ray DVD drives so you can watch movies on the 15.4-inch screen and in 1280 × 800 resolution. The new laptops roll out this month in Japan and will cost between ¥150,000 to ¥310,000 (or between $1,300 to $2,675 in Yankee greenbacks.)

via Engadget