Mr Blair visited a display about the new technique, tele-medicine, while hosting the G7 Summit in Cardiff last month.

National scheme

He was so impressed at the results of a scheme in operation in rural Wales that he asked Welsh Secretary Ron Davies to write a progress report on the technique, with a view to extending its use nation wide.

Tony Blair: interested in telemedicine

Tele-medicine - the diagnosis and treatment of certain medical conditions via a computer link - is already helping to tackle problems affecting the NHS in rural Wales.

Like many other isolated areas, health care in rural Wales has been hampered by a shortage of doctors and by the huge distances that some patients have to travel for treatment.

No need for travel

But tele-medicine has enabled doctors to treat many more patients without the need for time consuming and tiring travel.

A GP or a nurse in a cottage surgery or at the patient's home takes high resolution photographs or x-rays, and sends them via a computer link to a consultant, located perhaps hundreds of miles away, to make a diagnosis.

A tele-medicine monitoring centre has already been launched in Cardiff. Patients with cardiac problems are able to use a hi-tech device to record their heartbeats when they are feeling unwell.