Terrifying moment lift floor drops into shaft - VIDEO

Office workers step into a lift, their minds on what tasks the day holds, or perhaps their plans for dinner after work.

Suddenly the lights dim and, with the sound of tortured metal, the floor falls away into a black abyss.

Fortunately, this isn't footage of a terrifying accident but a stunt by a technology company to show how clear the picture is on its new computer monitors.

South Korean conglomerate LG combined nine of its new IPS monitors and fixed them to a floor of a lift in an office building. After the floor button is pressed, the monitors show a hyper-realistic animation of the floor collapsing into the darkness.

The effect is heightened by an ominous flickering of the lights and sound effects of shrieking metal giving way. LG did not respond to questions from MailOnline regarding whether the participants were real office workers or actors.

However, either way they will undoubtedly give many workers something to think about next time they press the office lift button.  For a split second, the hapless victims are fooled into thinking they are about to plunge down into the shaft.

Many jump back or grab the railings when the panels appear to drop away, and one women yelps in terror. However, the fear is short-lived and most laugh about it afterwards, although one woman storms out of the lift with a face like thunder.