using unsigned short in glsl compute shader

Hi

Is there a way to use unsigned shorts in a glsl compute shader? I noticed that the supported data types do not mention unsigned short - ony 32 bit types like int, float unsigned int.

I have a buffer of unsigned shorts that I am reading into the compute shader. I also write out to this buffer. If unsigned short is not supported, then I will have to
a) convert the unsigned short into floats before sending them to the compute shader
OR
b)Strip out the extra bits and store 2 bytes worth of data into the buffer inside the compute shader (NOT SURE IF THIS IS THE BEST APPROACH).

Any suggestions from previous experiences?

thanks

The GL_NV_gpu_shader5 extension added support for a full set of 8-, 16-, 32-, and 64-bit scalar and vector data types for all shader types.