Mobile internet service to assist football fans

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Pretoria - Government Communication and Information Systems (GCIS) has extended its 2010 FIFA World Cup website (http://www.sa2010.gov.za/) onto a mobile platform (m.sa2010.gov.za) allowing fans access to football information from their cellphones.

m.sa210.gov.za is a handy mobile phone service that gives fans access to host city and stadium information, Park and Ride/Walk locations, tourist information, FIFA Fan Fests and Public Viewing Areas.

It also includes the match schedule together with updates on match results and news.

Themba Maseko, government spokesperson, says the mobile website (mobisite) can also be accessed by sending an SMS with the keyword 2010 to the number 34747. Alternatively people can simply type the address: http://m.sa2010.gov.za into the browser of their cellphones.

"By extending the sa2010.gov.za website onto a mobisite, fans both locally and internationally can access a host of information about the 2010 FIFA World Cup directly from their cellphones, from wherever they are.

"The mobile internet site is continually updated ensuring that fans are kept up to date with all the latest World Cup news as well as being able to explore government's involvement in the first FIFA World Cup on African soil," Maseko said..

Those with cellphones without access to the mobile web, can still access essential information through dialling *120*12010# from anywhere in South Africa.

He said the mobisite is packaged into three easy-to-use sections: SA 2010 Fan Guide, Information and SA communities.

"The mobisite facilitates two-way communication between government and the people using the service and aims to supply interesting content, along with useful location-relevant information for wherever they are in South Africa," Maseko said.

Use of the site is free. However, the relevant data charges will be applied by the users' cellphone network. It costs 20 cents for 20 seconds on the USSD menu with the SMS service costing R2.