Japanese phone company testing scent downloads

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TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- Japanese cell phone users will test a new service that allows them to download fragrances, major telecommunications company NTT Communications Corp. said Monday.

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A downloaded fragrance will be sent from a user's cell phone to a base station that will emit the scent.

Twenty participants using "Mobile Fragrance Communications" can download files of specific scents accompanied by music or video clips, the company said in a statement.

Scent playlists can be downloaded from "i-mode" mobile Web site run by the company's affiliate, NTT DoCoMo.

The service uses a handset's infrared port to transfer the "fragrance data" to a dedicated device similar to a plug-in air freshener that is loaded with a cartridge of base fragrances. The device then mixes them to create the chosen smell, which it then wafts out.

The service is a cell phone version of an existing fragrance download service for scent users' homes and offices. Trials will run for 10 days beginning Thursday.

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