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Lonely Planet augments muggers' earnings

Wander around holiday hotspots with your phone at eye level

Lonely Planet's latest Compass Guides offer Android handset-packing city visitors an augmented version of reality, if they aren't busy finding the perfect geek destination at FourEyesUp.

Anyone planning a late summer trip might like to take a look at that new service, which promises to provide details of educational sites around the world. But the high-tech tourist will no doubt be more interested in Lonely Planet’s augmented-reality city guides, so you can really look like a tourist while travelling.

Screen shot of the Lonely Planet application

The Compass Guides are available for 25 cities*, for Android-based handsets, though you might want to take care wandering through the back streets of New York (or London for that matter) holding your top-end smartphone boldly ahead of you while you scan for interesting things to look at.

For those who plan ahead, FourEyesUp will suggest museums and historical locations for your inner geek - ideal for people who judge a holiday by the amount they learned along the way.

The database is a bit spartan at the moment, but visitors are invited to post reviews and locations are invited to request a listing, so hopefully it will build up over time.

This might suit those of us who have 11 months of planning ahead, but even if you've got less time on your hands it's worth a look. ®

* Since you asked: Amsterdam, Bangkok, Barcelona, Beijing, Hong Kong, Istanbul, London, Paris, Prague, Rome, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo, Sydney, Vancouver, Boston, Chicago, LA, Las Vegas, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC.

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