Mr Putin familiarised himself with a number of projects and the most promising developments in different fields.

A representative of Yota Internet services told Putin that a fourth generation Wi-Fi Internet network was launched in five Russian cities in one year. "We are preparing to launch a service providing free calls on the Internet," he said.

Mr Putin asked where communications companies were exporting their innovation developments. The Yota representative said they had built a network in Nicaragua in only three months.

Mr Putin also took an interest in the development by young scientists from Zelenograd. They presented a neuron computer interface, which makes it possible to operate external devices by force of brain waves. The system registers electric impulses from the brain and issues commands for operating devices. "If it (a system of sensors fixed on the head) is attached, it is possible to understand what a person is thinking about, right? I got it. Don't attach it to me," Mr Putin joked.

At the same time Mr Putin agreed to try an unusual machine for cleaning shoes indoors. Its designers claim that it is much cheaper than its Western counterparts and that it cleans 90% of dirt and microbes off shoes.

Mr Putin asked the authors of a portable device processing wood waste into liquid fuel about its application. They said the device is now being tested in Tatarstan but can be used in any small forest management company. About 80% of Russia's forest related companies are small.

The authors of the Metropa project asked Putin for federal support. They invented a system to eliminate queues for metro tickets. It can read information and withdraw fares from a mobile phone as riders pass through turnstiles. "But you need municipal rather than federal support," Mr Putin said.

Some young inventors also showed the Prime Minister a technology for intellectual video monitoring, which makes it possible to identify criminals in a crowd by their distinguishing features, and a number of other related projects.

Twelve people reached the finals in the contest for the Zvorykin Prize (Vladimir Zvorykin is an American engineer of Russian origin, one of the inventors of modern television). All in all, over 10,000 took part in the competition within a year.

There will be three categories of winners. Each Zvorykin Prize winner will receive 1 million roubles.