Interactive tours via mobile phone or PDA

HP Labs in Bristol has launched a website offering location-based games and city walking tours for handheld devices that can detect position, light and motion.

The site, mscape, also contains a tool for modifying some of the existing games and tours, and a downloadable software-writing tool kit for more advanced users who want to create applications from scratch.

"We think this will be a new genre and a new medium of experience," said Phil Stenton, research manager for the project known as mscapes.

Mscapes works by combining physical data with virtual information, a concept that's known as augmented reality.

An example of an mscape would be a guided city walk for out-of-town guests. This could be created online at the website and downloaded to a handheld or compatible smartphone. Text, video or pictures would pop up on screen when a person reached a point of interest.

The software only works on handheld PCs or phones such as the Cingular 2125 that run Windows Mobile 5.0 (or later versions), and is limited to the resolution of the device's GPS sensor.

HP has been working on the applications for about five years and recently decided to open the project up and let others create and modify the research software and share their work with other people.