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Visa and Nokia have buddied up in Malaysia to launch "the world's first" credit card payment system that allows consumers to purchase goods using their mobile phones.

The Mobile Visa Wave Payment Pilot (that's a mouthful), which is another move forward toward the fabled electronic wallet, uses the Visa Wave smart card technology to zap payment information into a reader.

Over the next four months, 200 Malaysian Visa Wave card holders will test out the new Nokia phone with this added feature. Payments can be made at 2,500 sales outlets throughout the country.

"It's a natural progression. There are more mobile phones in the world today than plastic cards. We see this as a good marriage," said Paul Jung, Visa Asia-Pacific's regional head for emerging products and technology.

And with 3 billion people in the world expected to be carrying mobile devices by 2008, that "good marriage" will be a lucrative one as well.

Jung said that phones with these capabilities won't eliminate the wallet completely but "will make life easier for everyone."

If successful in Malaysia, Nokia is planning to release its Nokia 3230 prototype phone for commercial use as early as 2007.