Nokia launches multiplayer mobile game

Mobile phone manufacturer Nokia is inviting thousands of mobile phone users to take part in what it hopes will be the largest multimedia game ever held in Europe.

Nokia Game, which will begin on 1 November, will involve mobile phone users attempting to solve the disappearance of a fictional character, helped by clues featured on TV, radio and the press.

Mobile phone users from 18 European countries are invited to register to play the game at www.nokiagame.com between 7 and 31 October. Players will need connection to the internet and a mobile phone which has text messaging. All phone brands and networks are eligible.

To help solve the disappearance of character Sisu, players will receive coded clues in national newspapers columns, TV ads and on the radio. Players will also need to search the internet for tips and will need to decipher text messages which they could receive in the middle of the night, Nokia has said.

Over the month, the number of players will be sized down to an "elite handful of gamers" spread across Europe. The star prize is an all-expenses VIP trip to an MTV Europe snowball event in Italy in January next year. There are also runners-up prizes.

A Nokia spokeswoman said the game is part of the company's philosophy of "connecting people". Nokia expects the game to involve "hundreds and thousands" of players and said it could become a cult craze. Some clues may involve liasing with virtual strangers to help unravel the story-based mystery.

Also launched today was a mobile phone game based on European football fixtures. PhoneGoal is a joint venture between Xilerate - United News and Media's interactive division - SportingOdds, an online sports gambling company, and mobile commerce technology provider Xtempus.

The game will be available on BT Cellnet, Orange and Vodafone networks and involves players answering questions about this season's European football matches via the internet, SMS messaging or a Wap-enabled phone.