One in four Britons admits to deliberately littering their kitchens with expensive branded items from high-end stores to impress visitors according to a new survey.

The phenomenon, dubbed “daylight snobbery”, is more prevalent amongst young people, with half of under 24 year-olds freely admitting to leaving luxury goods including branded bags, boxes and other products from stores such as Harrods and Selfridges lying around in a bid to boost their image.

The poll of 2,450 people across the UK conducted by leading kitchen company Sigma 3 reveals that the most popular items deliberately positioned to make a good impression are expensive gadgets, premium bottles of alcohol, photographs of exotic holidays or famous friends and bags from upmarket stores.

The findings also reveal that as we age we become less image obsessed, with fewer than one in ten of over-55s polled feeling the need to overtly ‘brand’ their kitchens with high-end products and packaging (6.8 per cent).

UK sales of games will outstrip music and video for the first time in 2008, says a report from Verdict Research.

A huge shift in consumer attitudes has turned video games into the UK's most popular form of entertainment, say the retail analysts.

It predicts spending on games will rise by 42% to £4.64bn in 2008, with sales on music and video at £4.46bn.

In the last five years the video games market has more than doubled in value, while music sales have stagnated.

The good news for game makers in the report was balanced by grim tidings for high street retailers.

"The music and video market is not just suffering from a slowing of growth but a massive transfer of spend to online," says Malcolm Pinkerton of Verdict Research.

It is online sales of CDs and DVDs that have grown rapidly, rather than digital downloads, which still only account for around 4% of music and video sales.

In contrast, video games spending has enjoyed explosive growth, with the launch of major new titles such as Grand Theft Auto IV and FIFA 08, and the Nintendo Wii continuing to broaden the appeal of games.

But retailers warn that the Verdict report may not provide a completely accurate picture.

"There is no doubt that the games sector is having a fantastic year," says Steve Redmond of the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), "but these figures overstate that by including games hardware."

The ERA's most recent figures for 2007 show sales of games software at £1.7bn, compared to £1.4bn in music sales and £2.2bn for video revenues.

"Our prediction is that games will overtake video by the end of this year," says Mr Redmond, "but not music and video combined."

High street music retailers are diversifying as sales of CDs continue to fall.

Malcolm Pinkerton of Verdict says firms such as HMV and Zavvi are changing store layouts: "They're cutting back on space in music and re-allocating it to more lucrative areas such as MP3 players, books, clothing and video games."

NEW YORK (Reuters) - More and more shoppers are willing to spend on gadgets with a touchscreen -- even if it means they lose on extra features and better quality.

Touchscreen technology has been sweeping consumer electronics, leaving few devices untouched, and even digital cameras are affected.

Commonly found in monitors in airports, banks and other public places, the technology is now a staple in consumer products, thanks to Apple Inc's popular iPhone and phones by companies such as Palm Inc.

Joining them are computer desktops, calculators, MP3 players and watches that let users control functions by tapping, sliding or dragging a finger.

Earlier this year, Hewlett-Packard Co, the world's biggest computer maker, launched touchscreen PCs, signaling the trend was spreading to computers. Swiss watchmaker Tissot even has a "T-Touch" line of touchscreen watches.

Customers want touchscreen devices because they are well designed, are "cool" and have no buttons.

"Touch, being one of the five human senses, is a very intuitive way of how you interact with devices," said Francis Lee, chief executive of Synaptics, whose touchscreen technology is used in devices from Research In Motion's new BlackBerry Storm to Apple's iPhone.

In New York, taxis have touchscreen television sets that come with the message: "Touch, don't press."

Global touch-screen module revenue is forecast to grow to $6.4 billion by 2013, rising at a compound annual growth rate of 13.7 percent from 2008, according to market researcher iSuppli.

NO MORE 'TOUCH-ME-NOT'

"There's one you can touch with your finger. Where is it?" asked one eager shopper visiting a Manhattan retailer.

He found what he was looking for -- a sleek, red Nikon camera with touchscreen technology. After fiddling with it for a few minutes, he left as fast as he came in, perhaps turned off by the device's $329.99 price tag.

Sony has a wide range of touchscreen cameras and demand for them encouraged Nikon to launch the CoolPix S60.

But the technology has its drawbacks. Touchscreens often fall short in terms of functionality and picture quality, compared with devices that are similarly priced.

But many customers do not seem to care. Circuit City Stores Inc sales executive Danielle Brannigan said customers first walk into the store to get a camera without knowing it has a touchscreen feature.

"Then they go 'Whoo. Touchscreen.' They get excited like little kids and the first thing they say is, 'We wanna have this one,'" she said.

Customers who already own touchscreen devices are often the ones who come looking for another.

Vinh Nguyen, a student from California visiting New York City, said he was shopping for a touchscreen camera for his girlfriend because she would have only a touchscreen device.

She already owns an iPhone, a HP TouchSmart and a Nintendo DS with the technology.

Synaptics' Lee said there is the same rush for digital cameras as for other appliances introducing touchscreen technology, helped by LCD screens on the devices.

The only device that might remain unaffected could be television. For many couch potatoes, a remote control is all the "cool" technology they want.