New PCs display Japanese flair

American PC makers are beginning to take some fashion cues from the Japanese, designing desktop system that are thinner and smaller than ever.

One pronounced trend coming directly from the Japanese market to U.S. consumers is the "Ekisho Desukutopu," or LCD desktop computer. Introduced initially in the U.S. market by Japan's NEC, Gateway and Dell have both followed suit.

Compaq Computer also will come out with smaller, more colorful PCs for the corporate market next year, another nod to the Japanese sense of style that increasingly pervades the design labs of U.S. manufacturers.

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