Anders Larsson at WIP says the company has developed an entire concept around mobile tourism. "Our services include mobile guides, games, image services and postcards – all of which can be offered by, for example, municipalities or museums."

The concept is available in the city of Karlskrona, in the southern part of Sweden. Karlskrona is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and has a long naval history, with lots of interesting attractions scattered around the city. Tourists can access information through a mobile phone and learn more about the place’s history. Information available includes text, voice and pictures.

"People can either rent a mobile phone for a small fee from the local tourist information office or use their own phone,” Larsson says. "The easiest way is to rent the phone, but it is also possible to download the program from the tourist office's internet site on to your mobile phone."

While walking around the city, visitors receive information about different locations through the phone and use positioning services through GPS. The program also tells you where the next attraction is.

Larsson says: "We have used smart phones, such as Sony Ericsson P900 or PDA's. A GPS navigator is good to have but the service works without it."

The game Search Finder offers a fun and unusual way of learning the history of Karlskrona while on the move. Larsson says it fits nicely on to smaller camera enabled mobile phones, such as Sony Ericsson K750i. The game combines different technologies, such as SMS, WAP and MMS. Gamers receive instructions on places to visit through SMS and have to answer questions to be able to move on in the game – and in their sightseeing. After finding the right location, the gamer then takes a picture of it with the camera phone and sends it via MMS to the tourist information office, which then sends out a new Search Finder assignment. Search Finder is also available for the schools in Karlskrona. It enables the students to learn about and see the historical objects in a fun and interesting way, Larsson says.

An additional service included in the concept is the postcard service. People equipped with camera phones can take a picture of themselves or a local attraction and send the picture to the tourist information office, which then makes it into a regular postcard for them. The photos are also available on the internet.

WIP also recently launched a new service called 3Album, together with mobile operator 3. "It is like having a photo album on the internet where you can send images, videos, text and sound," Larsson says. "You have access to your content via the web or a mobile phone. It's simple to send in images from vacations, for example, so that family or friends can view them. Updating the 3Album is easy - it only takes seconds from a mobile phone."

WIP has recently seen an increase in interest from museums to launch mobile guides, such as the one in Karlskrona. The Museum of National Antiquities in Stockholm recently launched new services in cooperation with WIP and the Nordic Handscape project. The Nordic Handscape project aims to investigate and develop the possibilities for conveying cultural heritage by mobile technology.

"Together with our partner, Instant Infotainment, we have been involved in several projects, such as In Arn's Footsteps – a mobile guide featuring material from the novel Arn, by Swedish writer Jan Guillou," Larsson says. "The book is about a knight who lived during the middle ages, and the guide enables visitors to listen to information about 10 historically significant places. Another similar project is at Ales stenar, in the southern part of Sweden, which is one of country's most visited cultural attractions with about 600,000 visitors per year."

The Nordic Handscape project has also run pilots in other locations, such as the Old Town in Stockholm. The pilot includes a mobile guide and an interactive game.

"Museums and visitors can definitely benefit from this," Larsson says. "People can download information before they visit a museum or historical place, and museums can save time and money by using a mobile solution instead of having to erect signs."

The Karlskrona project has been running for three years and there are plans to expand the coverage. Larsson is convinced that more cities will be interested in the concept.

"The benefits are obvious both for information providers and users. We are already cooperating with museums in other Nordic countries, and hopefully we will see global interest soon. "