The information superhighway reaches into the mall; technology allows shoppers to work their fingers, not feet.

It was bound to happen: Going to the mall to sit in a room and shop by computer using a mouse.

Shoppers at the Mall of Orange in Orange are doing just that this holiday season by using a computer program developed by Curtis Software Corp. in Los Angeles and packaged by Long Beach-based Let Us View.

It's kind-of like shopping at home on a computer, but with the added fun of going to the mall to soak up the culture of today's shopping centers.

The way it works is simple. The mall has set aside an area inside the shopping center where people can go to do their shopping by computer, rather than going from store to store looking for a particular item.

The feature is called "Quick Shop" and lists items that are available in Mall of Orange stores. In addition to the price and the name of the store where the merchandise is available, each entry contains a photograph of the item and information about such things as sizes and colors.

A shopper can go through the list by price categories for merchandise such as pants, shoes and kitchen utensils, pick out an item, order it and then go directly to the store to pick it up.

"It saves people time," said Jim Curtis, founder and president of Curtis Software. "Rather than shopping till you drop, you can drop into an easy chair and shop."

No instant hit

So far, response among shoppers has not been overwhelming, said mall officials.

"But you know something like this takes time to catch on," said Susan Park, the mall's marketing director. "Among people who are comfortable with computers, it's doing fairly well, but other people don't quite understand it."

Park said the mall is using the software on an experimental basis for the holiday shopping season and will decide whether to retain the service permanently after the first of the year.

She said she did not know of any other mall in Southern California that has such a service.

Unlike shop-at-home software programs, the Quick Shop title allows people to take advantage of the time-saving qualities of high technology but still savor the more earthly pleasure of going to the mall. Believe it or not, people like going to the mall, even at Christmas time, said Park.

"What Quick Shop does is allow people to still experience the shopping experience without a lot of the hassle, particularly at this time of year. You know a lot of people like going to the mall and this allows them to do that -- to get out and feel the mood," she said.

Armchair shoppers

Park noted there are several computer screens with the Quick Shop feature set up in an area of the mall. The section has several chairs where people can sit and go through the listing of items.

The lounge is staffed by a couple of mall employees who can assist people with using the computers.

Park said she didn't have numbers available on how many consumers have used Quick Shop, and she was unsure about the financial arrangements with Curtis and Let Us View.

Curtis did not want to reveal specifics either, but he said the companies are not necessarily making any money from the arrangement with the mall. Instead, the purpose behind the deal is for the idea and the software to get exposure and hopefully catch on at other malls.

"We've already gotten some publicity. We've been on a couple of television spots and we're hoping more people hear about this," he said.

The idea for Quick Shop came from Hank Elder, who operates Let Us View, a company that places retail kiosks in various locations.

Elder met mall owner Harry Newman of Newman Properties at a real estate seminar earlier this year, and the idea of Quick Shop came up in conversation. Newman agreed to the concept, and then Elder began looking for a software company to produce the program.

"He (Elder) came across our name because we're listed in various directories and catalogs of software companies that convert catalogs on to software and CD-ROMs," said Curtis.