Orange serves up access to Wikipedia

Mobile operator Orange has struck a deal with dispute resolution tool and fact finding site Wikipedia in a bid to boost mobile data traffic.

France Telecom’s wireless outfit said it will provide customers in France, the UK, Spain and Poland with access to co-branded content from the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia.

The deal will see the creation of specific Wikipedia channels on the Orange mobile web portals, as well as widgets which enable customers to access Wikipedia content directly from their Orange homepage.

Wikipedia is something of a traffic magnet. According to comScore Media Metrix, Wikipedia and the other projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation receive more than 300 million unique visitors per month, making it the fourth most popular web property worldwide.

In other news, the mobile operator’s UK unit has introduced what it calls the “smallest, lightest and cheapest touch screen mobile available in the UK”. The Vegas is pitched at the mass market, priced at £48.50 on prepay and is available in black or pink.