Many cultures use bamboo to make houses, fences, bridges, furniture, canoes, martial arts weaponry, and toilets. Bamboo is even a healthy snack for pandas.

So why not construct an LCD monitor out of bamboo, too?

The latest ECO-friendly PC Monitor from Playengine is the Bamboo TFT Monitor ($473.31). It dons a 19-inch screen with a resolution of 1280 x 1024, 16.7 million colors, and is plug & play.

But why bamboo? Why not pine, sycamore, or ebony? According to Playengine.com, "Bamboo can regenerate faster than wood and is typically harvested within 6 to 12 months...The bamboo is coated with paint which features anti-pest and anti-rot effects and the monitors are easily cleaned due to their unique fibre. In addition to this, the texture of bamboo offers warmth in the winter and coolness in the summer."

And why should you stop there? The company also offers a Bamboo Keyboard ($39.56), a Bamboo Optical Mouse ($28.48), and a 19-inch Widescreen Bamboo LCD TV ($552.46).

Click on both images to enlarge.

Thanks to Gearlog reader Andy Morgan for the tip!