Would you like to live in a city where buildings turn the lights off for you, and self-driving cars will find the nearest parking space themselves? [1] it might sound a little far from you, living in a "smart" city like this could happen sooner than you think.

Great changes have taken place in towns that we have lived in for [2], while completely new cities are being built. One such place is the city of Songdo. Every home there will have a "telepresence" system—allowing users to [3] the heating and locks, take part in video meetings, and [4] education, health care and government services. Around the city, escalators will only move when someone is on them, and offices and schools will all be [5] to the system.

The great mind behind Songdo is from the [6] Cisco. In fact, technology companies around the world such as IBM, Siemens and Microsoft are already in the business.

"About 75% of the world's [7] will live in cities by 2050, so cities will need to be more modern to deal with the coming problems. Making cities smarter is one way out, and I think this will in turn make cities greener", said Dan Hill, head of a research company.