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Mobile phone giants including Orange, O2 and Vodafone have joined together in an attempt to take on Apple's app store.
The alliance, made up of 24 leading phone operators, will pool their resources to build an open platform that will deliver applications across their range of handsets.
The project, which is also supported by the device makers Samsung and Sony Ericsson, was announced at the Mobile World Congress today.

The Apple apps store has more than 130,000 applications, far more than any other phone operator

They hope it will help them challenge the might of the Apple App store, which has more than 130,000 third-party applications from cookery tips to zombie games.
The service has generated more than three billion downloads since 2008, with 70 per cent of revenue going to the app seller and 30 per cent going to Apple.
Many of the mobile phone networks do not think they can compete for app developers since Google and Microsoft have followed Apple's lead with their own exclusive platforms.
Google's Android Marketplace has 10,000 applications, while Microsoft is trying to break into the lucrative business with an app store on its latest Windows Mobile 7.
The consortium, who have three billion customers between them, also hope to stem a consumer backlash against having to pay for apps again if they swap devices.
A spokesman from the mobile's industry trade body the GSM Association said: 'The Wholesale Applications Community aims to unite a fragmented marketplace and create an open industry platform that benefits everybody - from application developers and network operators to mobile phone users themselves.'
It will also save app developers from having to rewrite their app for different devices.
The platform will reach the consortium's three billion phone customers.