The market for home automation systems in Asia-Pacific will be worth more than $500m by 2011, according to the latest forecasts.

Faster internet connections will foster the growth of home networks, and some analysts believe that vendors will look for ways to add value to networking kit.

Home automation systems potentially provide a wide variety of functions. The most advanced can connect all lights and appliances in the home to a central server that can switch them on or off, and in some cases adjust the brightness of lights.

Possible uses include turning lights and audio/visual equipment on and off at random intervals to deter burglars, and allowing home owners to switch on heating or air conditioning systems via their mobile phones.

While growth in Asia will be strong, home automation is expected to be biased towards more developed markets.

"Asia-Pacific home automation markets are developing unevenly," said In-Stat analyst Alice Zhang.

"Japan and South Korea are expected to continue to take the lead in the region, and Australia and New Zealand present high development potential."

South Korea, one of the first nations in the world to roll out high-speed internet services to a large part of its population, already leads the region in home automation system installations.