The country's largest telecommunications company, Swisscom, has launched a new service combining the Internet and mobile phone technology.

The country's largest telecommunications company, Swisscom, has launched a new service combining the Internet and mobile phone technology.

Through the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), mobile phone users can now have internet access to more than 20 information and communication services, including Swissinfo, the Internet service of Swiss Radio International.

Other services include Swisscom's telephone directory, the national railway timetable, financial information from the UBS bank, and business information from Teledata and Kissdirect.

Customers with a WAP-enabled handset will also be able to use the system to book tickets for the theatre, cinema and thousands of other cultural and sporting events. The supermarket, Migros, will even keep WAP users informed of its latest special offers.

WAP users will also get a separate e-mail address for their mobile phone allowing them to send and receive electronic mail on their mobiles.

The service is open to all mobile phone users regardless of their telecom provider. Swisscom subscribers will pay SFr 0.20/minute and others will be charged SFr 0.40/minute. The company says it will expand the service over the coming months and in April it will open a special WAP portal on the Internet.

From staff and wire reports

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