AGRA, India (AFP) - University students representing 42 countries in a Microsoft technology contest were showcasing innovations which they hope will help people live more healthily.

Organizers said around 180 students representing 72 teams selected from more than 68,000 applicants worldwide arrived in India's Taj Mahal city of Agra at the weekend for the finals of the Imagine Cup 2006, now in its fourth year.

"We want to get these kids excited about technology. It is not technology for its own sake. The idea is to make them realize their potential for helping others through innovation," said Sheila Gulati of Microsoft India, who is in charge of the contest.

Participants this year have been asked to work on products designed to improve health.

"People have such hectic lifestyles. That's why we have come with a device that will help people keep fit," said 19-year-old Thai student Varavongsa Ramangkura, showing off his low-cost innovation.

The device tells a user the cycling speed and the number of calories lost in a workout session when attached to a computer and a bicycle. It costs eight dollars.

Hong Kongs Kwok Yee-lok and his team said they wanted to fight infectious diseases with the help of their automatic sterilization and authentication system for hospitals and butchers' shops.

"With our system, we are hoping that we will be able to tackle avian flu," 16-year-old Kwok said.

Like many others, the high school student was not sure if his experiment would get the top honours -- to be announced in New Delhi on Saturday -- but said the effort was worth it.

"To me the experience of getting to know people from different cultures is more important than winning," Kwok said.

Participants said a trip to the 17th century Taj Mahal was equally high on their agenda.

"The Taj Mahal is the symbol of India and we wanted to give students the opportunity to compete in its shadow," Gulati said, adding that Indias emergence as an information technology leader, driven mainly by students, was another reason for the choice of the venue.

India sent one of the highest numbers of entries to the contest.

Previous winners of the Imagine Cup have won lucrative deals, Microsoft said.

"Last year, the Greek team which developed a model to translate sign language into speech raised about 500,000 euros in funding to develop their project," said Joe Wilson, Microsoft director of academic initiatives.

"This contest gives these students the platform they need to develop their projects further, and they go ahead and do it," Wilson said. Microsoft does not retain property rights to the designs.

Winners will take home a total of 125,000 dollars in prize money divided among six competition categories, with software design the flagship contest.