If you're in the market for a hosted remote control product, there are plenty to choose from, all of which let you logon to a PC remotely, requiring little more than a browser and Internet access.

With I'm InTouch, however, you get a bit more than just remote control. Indeed, Canadian developer 01 Communique is keen to stress its ability to collect and respond to e-mail using any Web-enabled device and, uniquely, covertly monitor remote PC activity.

A fair amount of software needs to be installed onto the PCs you want to access with I'm In Touch, but any version of Windows from 98 onwards can be supported and the process is quite straightforward with only a few questions to answer. All that's needed is a unique host name plus a login and password, both of which are stored on the PC itself. Added to which you're asked whether you will want regular access or to run in stealth mode, to monitor what's happening on the remote PC without the user knowing.

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The software then needs to be activated, after which you can find and connect to host PCs by browsing to a special locator service hosted on the Web by 01 Communique itself. Here you're asked to supply the name of the PC to connect to, followed (once it's found) by the required user name and password. A remote control session will then be established, optionally using 128-bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology to encrypt communications, with the usual remote desktop then displayed at the client end.

For best results an ActiveX control needs to be installed in the browser used, and it's surprising how often that's not allowed. In such instances a Java applet can be run instead but only if the necessary Java runtime is available. Security software can also interfere with the connection, with information on how to deal with leading products available on the vendor's site.

Response times will, naturally depend on the available bandwidth. For our tests we used broadband connections which gave workable results, and we had only a few problems accessing our remote systems when out and about. Optimisation for wireless links is also available in the latest version, along with support for multiple monitor configurations.

As well as the remote desktop you can opt to just transfer files between the two systems, chat to the remote operator or interact with Outlook to send and receive mail. The My Outlook option can also be used with Outlook Express and is a useful option in that the e-mail client is run on the remote PC with just the inbox, contacts and calendar displayed remotely for maximum performance, even on a PDA or Web-enabled mobile phone.

I'm InTouch certainly works as claimed and, once you get to grips with the interface, is fairly straightforward to use. That said, we didn't find it as easy or as quick as some alternative products we've tried. You also have to subscribe to continue using I'm InTouch beyond the 30-day trial period, whereas if it's simple remote control you're after, rival services are available free of charge.

A competent hosted remote control solution, I'm InTouch also lets you send and receive files using any Web-enabled device, even PDAs and mobile phones, as well as covertly monitor remote PC activity. However, it faces stiff competition from rival products that, although lacking these extra features, offer much the same core remote access functionality for free.