A woman in the US has been cleared of a driving offence after a landmark finding that she wasn't watching TV, when she was wearing Google Glass.

Software developer Cecilia Abadie was given a ticket by San Diego traffic police last year for using a visible 'monitor', a charged usually reserved for those who watch TV while driving.

Google Glass imagery is not visible to anyone but the wearer, making it difficult to determine whether a device is 'on' or not. The judge said there was no proof Google Glass was operating during Ms. Abadi's drive, and he dismissed the ticket.

The wearable technology has yet to go mainstream, and this was the first such case to come before the courts.

Google Glass explained

The verdict could help shape future laws on wearable technology.

After the ruling, Ms Abadie told Sky News: "Google doesn't have a specific recommendation other than 'be responsible'.

"The screen never comes up by itself. The screen would not light up unless I give it the command to do so. So I don't find it distracting."

The device features a thumbnail-size transparent display above the right eye.

It lets wearers take pictures, record video, send messages or perform other tasks with touch controls or by speaking commands.

It connects to the internet using wi-fi hotspots or wirelessly through mobile phones.

Not widely available

The technology is not yet widely available to the public, but Ms. Abadie (44) was one of about 10,000 "explorers" who received the Google Glass earlier this year as part of a tryout.

Google has not announced a public release date for the device, but speculation centres around early 2014.

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