Cape Town — Nokia, one of the world's leading providers of mobile phone services, has promised to release a new set of goodies in line with the company's goal to promote the information society.

According to reports by the year 2009, more than 80% of people in Africa and the Middle East would access real time information on their mobile phones, and Nokia envisages an increase in that number to 900 million users by the time the new services are offered.

Nokia's General Manager for Enterprise Solutions in the Middle East and Africa, Matt Rothschild said that the first product that Nokia would unveil to its clientele in the two regions is email facilities via Nokia handsets.

He noted that many people are hungry for information and would rather access it through their mobile phones.

Businesses that boast of a mobile work force and enterprise, he said should consider emails as their first step towards achieving their goals.

"Nokia is gearing up to be the world's number one provider of mobile business solutions for mobile users," said Rothschild adding that there are about 3.3 million mobile phone users worldwide who use their phones to access business information.

Besides email access for mobile business users, the new facility would also enable users to access other information about other companies.

He said "Most of the mobile business users would soon be accessing more than email through their mobile phones. The new facility would enable users to access all the information that exists within a company's network via the mobile phone."

Among other things, users would be able to access information on the price of products stocked by a company, the level of stock and background information on all customers.

In a recent study that Nokia has undertaken in the Middle East and Africa, at least 45% of businesses in the region have singled out mobile solutions as a prerequisite for an efficient and competitive workforce.

Those interviewed said that any mobile phone company keen to make a mark in the market should unveil new mobile solutions in the market.

When Nokia introduced the E series, which include the Nokia E61i, Nokia E65, Nokia E90 Communicator and the recently launched Nokia E51, its customers, particularly those in business, were all smiles as the new devices allowed them to thrive and achieve new levels of productivity and competitiveness.