London, Aug 10 (IANS): A Japanese engineer has developed a portable transporter small enough to be carried in a backpack.

The 'WalkCar' is small enough to fit in a backpack, and has a top speed of 10 km per hour for distances of up to 12 km after three hours of charging. The user can steer it by just shifting his weight, the Daily Mail reported.

Kuniako Saito, 26, and his team at Cocoa Motors recently unveiled the lithium battery-powered 'WalkCar' transporter, which is the size of a laptop and resembles a skateboard more than a car.

Saito expects to see many other uses for his transporter, as he said it has enough power to help people push wheel-chairs with ease.

The lightweight aluminium board can take loads of up to 120 kg.

Once the rider stands on the WalkCar, it starts automatically, while simply stepping off stops the vehicle.

Best of all, there is no need to find a parking space, because it fits into a small bag when not in use.

"I thought 'what if we could just carry our transportation in our bags, wouldn't that mean we'd always have our transportation with us to ride on'," he was quoted as saying.

Saito said customers would be able to book WalkCars in the next few months on the crowd-funding website, Kickstarter. It is likely to cost around $800.