One of the age-old dreams of science fiction writers may very soon be a reality.

We are all familiar with the concept of teleportation from popular TV programmes like Star Trek, EastEnders and Cheers. Now scientists in Norway have discovered that - in theory, at least - teleportation is feasible.

There are, however, limitations. Due to the phenomenal amounts of energy required, the furthest distance it would be possible to transport any object is two and a half feet.

The team believes that in less than two years it can have a fully-functional teleportation device up and running. It is expected to cost around two and a half billion pounds, require the entire energy output of western Europe, and be extremely useful for getting things down out of high cupboards.