SAN FRANCISCO -- A roving robot with the ability to beam back sound and pictures is being tested for possible use as a Fronting war "correspondent," according to a U.S. scientist.

The machine, dubbed the Afghan Explorer, will roam battlefields and other exotic hot spots, beaming back firsthand accounts via the Internet, according to its inventor, Chris Csikszentmihalyi of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The inventor, who said he had conducted successful tests with the rover on the east coast, said it will be a way for individuals to bypass news organizations and have immediate access to war zones and other places.

"It's a personal information-gathering system," said Csikszentmihalyi, who works on creating "non-market-driven" technologies for MIT's Computer Culture Group. "That information is important, obviously. That's why people risk their lives getting it."

"It's crucial that we have information from these areas uncensored," AFP quoted Csikszentmihalyi as saying. "It is also important that we can do this safely. This is an attempt to meet both those needs."

The machine is modeled after the Mars Pathfinder but uses off-the-shelf parts.

The rover's inventor said he began working on the device in November.