If you have a £1000 spare, you can now buy yourself a pair of Google Glasses as a 'developer and tester', and become a part of the Glass Explorer Community. They are on sale in the UK - the only country outside of the States - as of this week. Consumer models are likely to be available (at a cheaper price) later this year.

However, wearers of such glasses (or any other wearable technology) should be aware that they could breach the Data Protection Act. UK cinemas are looking to ban Google Glass headsets fearing the technology could be used to make pirate copies of films. And a few UK companies have already made public their position on Google Glasses:

The Vue cinema chain has said it would ask guests to remove the eyewear, while Starbucks and Costa Coffee said they would ask wearers not to use Glass “inappropriately”.

Already in the States, some businesses have banned the use of Google Glass on their premises due to customers' concerns over being filmed without their knowledge - with offenders being named 'glassholes'. In response to the debate around privacy issues in the US, Google have already issued guidance notes for its 'Explorer Program', including 'Don't be creepy or rude' (aka, a 'Glasshole')' ...

It will be interesting to see how the privacy debate pans out here in the UK, especially once the cost of the device comes down and is available to consumers rather than 'explorers'.