Now your iPod can double as a mobile phone, thanks to the freeware application for the iPod Touch. 'Truphone" uses wi-fi technology in an iPod Touch and enables phone users to make calls to other iPod Touch owners and Google Talk's messaging service users.

The software is a spin-off from technology Truphone developed for smartphones and iPhones. With the creation, the developers plan to have the ability to make calls to and from landlines in place very soon.

"There are a slew of new features we're rolling out for the iPod Touch that will let users call landlines, Skype users or send instant messages. We're talking weeks, not months, before these go live," BBC quoted Wilson, as saying. Truphone founder - James Tagg - said that the technology also worked on other mobile devices, albeit in a slightly different way.

He said: "If you were using Truphone on a Blackberry, it will use cellular technology to log into the Truphone's website. From here you can make an international call, call a user on VoIP, or send an instant message. "Because the first leg of the call - from the user to our server - is charged at local rate, you're talking a bill of pennies, rather than pounds, to call, say the United States."

Truphone is the latest firm to offer voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), alongside Unlicensed Mobile Access and proprietary protocols such as Skype. Geraldine Wilson, the CEO of Truphone, said the firm had ambitions to become a global Internet player.

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