Dome's hi-tech refit for The O2

NEC's Richard Farnworth gives a guided tour of the technological innovations in The O2

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Technological innovations are on trial at the transformed Millennium Dome this weekend when it re-opens to the public.

£350m ($700m) has been spent refitting The O2, as it has been re-christened.

Computers have traditionally been beige, dull boxes. But some enthusiasts and big companies are turning PCs into works of art. Its developers, leisure firm AEG and mobile company O2, predict the complex can free itself of the criticism that plagued the old Dome.

New technology includes sound dampening which has reduced echo in the concert hall to match the world's highest standards .

And staff at The O2 have RFID chip security passes linked to a computer network that monitors where they go throughout the building.

The cinema features what technology suppliers NEC say is the world's brightest commercial movie projector bulb, the NEC 2500.

The films are stored and played from a computer server, ensuring the quality stays the same throughout a movie's run, unlike with celluloid.

Select members of the public received a first glimpse of the Greenwich venue on Wednesday evening, when it hosted a free concert.

The first true test comes on Sunday when Bon Jovi performs to paying guests.