RECEPTIONISTS everywhere may be trembling as they read of the latest addition to their ranks - Mavis.

This particular practitioner of the art of answering the telephone, the front line for many businesses, will not be a welcome sight for many receptionists, for Mavis, you see, is a cyber worker.

She doesn't exist, and therefore doesn't demand pay, doesn't need personnel files and doesn't take time off sick.

Mavis is being promoted by a Skipton businessman.

Mavis might not be able to make the coffee or arrange a board meeting, but her natural voice welcomes callers, while her sophisticated software can handle calls for 200 departments, with up to 200 employees in each.

She exists on a single CD-Rom, but Mavis can also operate in several languages, including Portugese and Russian, and can understand even the broadest of unusual accents.

Although Broughton-based entrepreneur Graham Burrough realises Mavis could put many hard-working humans out of work, he believes many cash-strapped smaller firms will benefit hugely from her services.

Graham, promoting Mavis in a joint venture with AKL of Sheffield, said: 'I will be plugging the benefits of Mavis to companies the length and breadth of the country, because I feel lots of them will save a fortune on staffing costs.

'And even those companies with receptionists can benefit from Mavis, because she will allow human beings to be freed from simply answering and fielding calls all day, giving them time to see to the needs of clients and customers in a much more personal way.

"I am very impressed by this product. In fact, some people haven't been able to tell that they have been speaking to a computer-generated voice.'

Other high-tec features of Mavis, meaning Multi-Lingual Automated Voice Independent System, include her ability to read faxes and e-mails out to her 'owner' over the phone.

Graham says he intends to target Mavis at small to medium sized companies - which make up around 85 per cent of businesses in large cities like Leeds and Bradford.

'Once set up it will answer your calls, listen to the request and put the caller through to the right person in the right department. It's amazing.'

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