ASAHIKAWA, Hokkaido (Kyodo) In Bibai, Hokkaido, a block of condominiums boasts the world's first snow-fed air conditioning system.

The snow, which cools the condos more cheaply than conventional air conditioning, is a selling point for the complex, built in 1999.

Bibai gets more snow than anywhere else in Hokkaido and the Bibai Natural Energy Study Group, comprising members of industry, scholars and the local government, is taking the initiative in using "heat-cooling energy from snow and ice" and introducing the technology to houses and public welfare facilities.