Did you hear the one about the Italian priest and the piece of consumer electronics equipment?

Turns out he uses an iPad instead of a physical prayer book to celebrate Mass.

According to a report on the matter, Rev. Paolo Padrini, a consultant with the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Social Communications, starting next month will make the free application available in English, French, Spanish, Italian and, the perennial favorite, Latin.

Padrini, who based on his development of the application was recruited by the Vatican to oversee its youth outreach program, reportedly developed the iBreviary two years ago. The application brings the book of daily prayers used by priests to the iPhone (News - Alert). At least 200,000 people have downloaded the application so far.

Of course, this is just one of the many quirky and sometimes surprising applications that have been developed for the iPad, a device for which some pundits originally questioned its purpose.

As recently reported by TMCnet, one street performer in Japan is using the iPad as part of his magic act.

Standing in front of an Apple (News - Alert) store holding an iPad, the gentleman appears to put words into the iPad, pull an actual book out of the iPad, pour what appears to be milk into the iPad (kind of the antithesis of the iBeer app), make an image of a bird on the iPad materialize in his other hand, and much more.

In fact, as recently reported by TMCnet, the Apple iPad recently became available in Japan. And the Japanese are crazy about the new Apple device. Japan, once of the hub of technological innovation, no longer is the creator of the hottest electronic devices. Instead, American outfits like Amazon, Apple and Vizio, and companies in other areas of Asia – namely Samsung (News - Alert) Electronics Co., have taken up the mantle.