Named "SmartEyes", the 19-month project aims to equip users with a pocket computer that will give audio assistance with data obtained from a global positioning system (GPS) network, said Aristotelio University telecommunications lab director Stavros Panas.

Selecting their destination before setting out, users will be guided through streets, on board public transport, and past traffic lights. The system will also provide information on regular street events such as fairs, Panas said.

"The system is better than a guide dog, which cannot lead its master on unfamiliar routes," he said.

"But it doesn't substitute for the white cane (visually impaired people use), which is still indispensible for avoiding unforeseen obstacles."

Winner of a 2004 innovation contest organised by Microsoft, "SmartEyes" begins tests in Athens and Salonika next year with a team of 150 volunteers.

Japan has been experimenting with a three-year project since 2003 designed to help guide the blind through radio-wave technology.

Panas said he expects each "SmartEyes" unit to sell for a market price of around 500 euros (600 dollars). Should it prove a success, it could be extended to other European cities and provide a breakthrough in tourism for the visually impaired, he said.

Sponsored by Microsoft, Greek mobile phone operator Cosmote and the Geomatics cartographic society, the pilot project has a budget of 450,000 euros (540,000 dollars).

The university laboratory is also working on a programme to help the deaf through software that transcribes sign language.

Greece last year tried to improve accessibility for the disabled in streets, public transport and state buildings ahead of the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games.

But Greek awareness of disabled rights remains limited, and handicapped people still rarely venture outdoors.

A public works ministry study conducted before the Games found that half of Greece's population of 10 million experiences restricted mobility of some form, including infants, the elderly and pregnant women.

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