GPS named year's Xmas gift in Sweden

Santa may get a little help finding chimneys in Sweden this year: Global-positioning gadgets were designated the Nordic country's top Christmas gift for 2007.

The Swedish Research Institute of Trade, which has handed out the "Christmas Present of the Year" title since 1988, said the small navigation device has evolved from an expensive, complicated tool into a cheap and user-friendly travel buddy.

Last year the instituted chose the audio book, following a poker set in 2005 and a flat screen TV in 2004. Swedes are expected to spend more than $1,000 per person on their Christmas shopping.

Jonas Arnberg, an institute analyst, said the gadget "has now become a component in almost every car. And it's really something that will explode when it comes to mobile phones."

Swedish sales of the devices, which can pinpoint a user's location through Global Positioning System satellites, more than doubled in 2006.