Nokia, the world's top mobile phone maker, announced on Tuesday that its phones would be used in a project to test wireless public transport fares in Hanau, near Frankfurt in Germany, beginning early next year.

The trial, in cooperation with the public transport authority for Frankfurt's greater area and electronics group Philips, begins next year.

It will enable owners of Nokia's 3220 handset to equip their phone with a high-tech shell used to pay for and store electronic tickets.

The shell, developed by Philips, contains technology that makes the phone compatible with Hanau's existing ticketing system.

'Users will simply need to touch their phones against the contactless reader as they get on and off the bus to register their journey,' Nokia said in a statement.

Germans will hopefully have one less thing to remember when they leave the house-- money for the bus.