Mitsubishi Electric Corp. has developed what it claims is the world's first rear projection television to use a laser instead of a mercury lamp. The laser-based set has a better picture than LCD and plasma display televisions, the electronics maker said.

"We want to put the product on the market in two years" by setting up a mass-production line that can be run on a commercial basis, Mitsubishi Electric President Tamotsu Nomakuchi told a news conference Wednesday in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture.

With most rear projection TVs, light is provided from a mercury lamp in the rear of the TV. That light is split up into red, blue and green to create color images on the front screen.

Mitsubishi Electric's new TV does the same thing but uses light from a semiconductor laser. The laser light makes it possible to represent images with a color variety 1.8 times greater than that of LCD TVs, thereby improving image quality, the company said.

In addition, the depth of the new rear-projection TV was kept the same as its mercury lamp models at 26 cm.

Nonetheless, the company said it still has some other technological hurdles to overcome, such as minimizing the size of the power source and reducing production costs, before it can be released on a commercial basis.