For all you folks who have teenage kids at home, there is yet another reason to buy Ford the next time you go car shopping. Well, if the initial specifications of MyKey - the latest contraption from the carmaker - are anything to go by, then it may soon be the end of the kind of parental anxiety that results from sending teenagers out alone with their cars.

MyKey is a special type of key that parents can pre-program to control several aspects of driving. It can limit top speeds, alert the engine management system to set off the low fuel alarm, sound the seatbelt reminder, and even limit the volume on the car stereo. And the best part is that any key with a SecuriLock transponder (from the SecuriLock anti-theft system) can be programmed via the vehicle message center to transform it into a MyKey. The MyKey feature will be bundled with the 2010 Ford Focus for the first time and will eventually be available on other Ford models as well.

Since there is a long way to go before my son grows up to become a teenager, I think I can pass on this one for now. But the one technology that I currently wish for? A child-lock on my laptop.

Via Autopia from Wired.com.