HTC virtual reality kit causes a surprise at MWC

HTC has revealed it plans to to sell virtual reality helmets to the public before the end of the year.

It marks a change of direction for the Taiwanese firm, which is best known for its mobile phones.

The headset features more than 70 sensors, allowing it to track gamers as they walk around their room, replicating their movements in a computer-generated environment shown to the wearer via two small screens placed in front of their eyes.

The machine is the result of a tie-up with video games developer Valve, which has been working on its software for years.

It is likely to pose a challenge to Facebook's Oculus Rift and Sony's Morpheus headsets, which have previously been announced but have yet to reveal release dates.

The BBC's Dave Lee was at HTC's announcement at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and got early reaction from Francisco Jeronimo, research director at the tech consultancy IDC.

You can follow Dave at MWC via his Twitter account @daveleeBBC.