Today many electronic devices need a transformer - you know, the brick that you need to plug in for you laptop, phone, PS2, etc.
If the a transformer could be placed in the wall outlet itself, then it would eliminate the need to carry around the brick in your laptop bag, reducing travel weight considerably. It could also reduce the costs of many items sold today that require a transformer.
Sure, we'll need standard plugs, a way to set voltage and polarity, and some way to stop the transformer from draining power when not in use, but it could save a lot of hassle. Plus, it would reduce waste. Think about how many old power bricks lying around for things you don't use anymore.
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There are a LOT of technical problems that would need to be overcome for this. firstly, the AC/DC bricks on most appliances these days are bigger that a standard outlet box, which would make installation into the wall difficult. They will get bigger if they are general-purpose multi-voltage units. It would also take a WIDE installation base before companies would stop using the bricks by default.
At the top level, this would require spending a LOT of time, money and effort to save a small amount of money and a small amount of inconvenience.
This would be difficult to pull off, since many companies that sell consumer electronics are barely turning a profit. Short-sighted companies would see this as a huge R&D cost with little ROI. But in the end, the companies could in turn eliminate the need to bundle an expensive power brick with every device, since the cost of converting the power would already have been covered by the consumer.It would take a handful of large companies like Motorola, Siemens, LG, etc to get together and form an alliance.