Microsoft Corp. is testing prototypes for Web-connected eyewear similar to the Google Glass device, people familiar with the matter said, potentially pushing the company into the much-hyped but unproven market for Internet-enabled technology gear worn on the body.

A person familiar with Microsoft's project said the company has asked several component makers in Asia to supply cameras and other key components for eyewear prototypes.

The person cautioned the device might never reach mass production.

The test shows Microsoft is keeping close tabs on the emerging market for so-called wearable technology gear, which includes bracelets that detect how much people exercise, wristwatches that replicate some features of smartphones, and more out-there ideas like tattoos to log people onto their computing devices.

Market-research firm ABI Research expects annual sales of wearable devices will reach 485 million units by 2018.

Microsoft is 'determined to take the lead in hardware manufacturing to make sure the company won't miss out on the opportunities in the wearable gadget market,' the person said.

The eyeglass-device test also underscores Microsoft's efforts to transform itself from a company that mostly made software into one that also has a hand in the gadgets on which the software runs.

Smartphones, small digital-video connectors for television sets and other hardware devices have helped transformconsumer technology -- and established Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. as technology titans. By contrast, Microsoft has largely been sidelined in the consumer-hardware market.

Microsoft's determination to become a bigger player in consumer tech gear was underscored by its $7 billionacquisition of Nokia Corp.'s mobile-phone business. Microsoft last year also started making its own computing devices, called Surface, and it is continuing to test its own Web-connected watch, people familiar with the matter have said.

In wearable computing, Microsoft rival Google Inc. has been the biggest backer of devices worn on the face.

The company's Google Glass device looks like an eyeglass frame with a postage-stamp-size computerscreen just above the right eye. Google Glass lets wearers take photos with voice commands and get digital directions without turning their gaze to a smartphone.

It is unclear how the devices would make their inventors money, and it is unproven whether people want them at all. In a recent survey of Americans by research firm Forrester Research, 12% of respondents said they would wear Web gadgets on their faces if they came from a trusted company.

Worries about potentialprivacy invasions with Google Glass have dogged Web-connected eyewear. Google Glass isn't yet for sale to the public.

To address the issue, Google has said that it has built explicit signals to make others aware of actions such as taking photographs or videos.

Optimists about wearable devices say companies making gadgets that duplicate features of mobile phones could undercut smartphone sales. As competition drives down prices of most technology, wearable devices also could provide an opening for higher-cost gear.

In addition to Google, some of the biggest technology companies are showing interest in wearable gadgets.

Microsoft has 78 U.S. patents related to head-mounted display and other wearable technologies, and 94 published pending applications as of Oct. 10, according to intellectual property firm Envision IP.

Google had 59 such U.S. patents and Apple had 27 on Oct. 10, Envision said.

Samsung and computer-chip maker Qualcomm Inc. recently introduced Web-connected watches.

In May, Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook, said wearable computers will be a 'key branch' in technology, though he said he didn't believe eyewear-like gear would have mainstream appeal.