Imagine sitting in an office somewhere in Europe just finishing off your work before returning home to the UK. The telephone rings and you answer in the normal way but it rapidly becomes clear the caller is not actually on a telephone, but standing at the front door of your house.

What has happened is that the security system has sensed the doorbell and, knowing you are away, routed the entry intercom to your mobile telephone.

After a brief conversation, the caller leaves, totally unaware that your are not actually in the house.

Just to ensure the person has left the premises, you switch on your laptop computer, access a website and immediately you can see the grounds of your home through its CCTV cameras.

Satisfied, you see that it is a sunny day and raise the blinds on the windows, before programming the heating system to rise by five degrees an hour before you are due to arrive, so that the house is warm as you come in.

If you think this sounds like something from the science fiction film Bladerunner, then you would be wrong.

This is technology that is available today and in use in homes across the country.

What is more is that Oxfordshire-based Cyber Homes can provide all this and more, depending on customer requirements.

Set up by Ion Smith and Andy Mack, the company is in the process of opening a state-of-the-art showroom in Thame, which will demonstrate the breadth of its high-tech offerings to home owners and businesses.

Its services stretch across heating, lighting, entertainment and security, all of which can be controlled on-site, or remotely.

But while this may sound complicated, the company tries to ensure that the operation is as simple as possible.

For example, one single control can dim lights, operate projector screens and play DVDs.

Mr Smith said clients usually choose a full package that more than meets their requirements. Prices range from about £20,000 to £100,000.

He added: "We have done some amazing jobs. One particular project in Fulham involved installing two cinema rooms with plasma screens and CCTV viewable on the Internet, with a lot of different systems working together."

This particular property also had electronically controlled lights, blinds and windows operated by any of the wall-mounted or wireless touch screens.

Velux roof windows in the main areas could be opened or closed at the touch of a button, while electronic blinds created shade when needed.

Lights were also installed into the stairs, which are activated by motion sensors after 11pm, creating illuminated walkways without the need to press a switch.

And on leaving the house, the security system could replay' every light that had been switched on or off in the last two weeks in the same sequence.

Mr Smith, 30, and Mr Mack, 26, previously worked for the Oxford Sound Company, carrying out installations for the BBC, before moving to Thame-based Techaus.

At the time the company offered a security/multi-media service until it folded.

But the duo decided there was a demand for such a high-tech offering and set up on their own, recruiting former colleague James Misselbrook, 46, in a sales and marketing role.

Mr Smith said: "We took over the Techaus client base and we have been working non-stop ever since."

Much of the firm's work is currently in London and it has a close relationship with property developers, such as Justin Harris, although ultimately the plan is to expand across the South East.

Quality of service is paramount, with the installation being supported fully throughout. As a result, word-of-mouth recommendation has become a major source of new business.

Mr Smith added: "We find this approach often leads to us being recommended to new clients and also being invited back to put in additional facilities."

Clearly, such is the complexity of home installations that it is becoming a necessary discipline, much like a decorator, an architect or an electrician.

Accordingly, there seems to be a bright future for companies such as Cyber Homes.

n Contact: Cyber Homes, 0845 0942718, www.cyberhomesltd.co.uk