Google has picked out 8,000 people who will be given a chance to don a pair of Internet-connected glasses and make a fashion statement likely to be envied by gadget-loving geeks around the world. (Not)

The pool selected by Google won a contest conducted last month requiring U.S. residents to submit 50-word applications through Twitter or Google’s Plus to explain how they would use a technology that is being hailed as the next breakthrough in mobile computing.

After sifting through a litany of ideas submitted with the hash tag “ifihadglass,” Google Inc. began notifying the winners Tuesday.



Time points out that prevailing in this contest might not seem like much of a victory if you aren’t a technology fan. The winners will have to pay $1,500 apiece if they want a test version of the product, which is called “Google Glass.” They also will have to travel to New York, Los Angeles or the San Francisco Bay area to pick up the device, which isn’t expected to be available on the mass market until late this year or early next year.