A pilot scheme in Oslo, Norway is allowing people to buy drinks from vending machines using only their mobile telephones.

The scheme marks another step in the journey towards a cashless society, in which a lack of loose change will no longer stop you from using vending machines, parking meters, public transport and public toilets.

The three-month pilot has been set up by mobile network operator NetCom with electronics company Siemens. Two drinks machines will sit in Gardermoen airport and an Olso shopping centre but will have no coin slots. They will simply display a telephone number.

Fixed-rate call

The customer dials the number and is connected to the NetCom payment centre. A short message is played while the customer's credit status is checked.

Next, the payment system calls the vending machine (on a different, secret number) and tells it that the customer can buy a drink. The keypad on the machine then unlocks and the thirsty caller chooses their beverage.

The whole process should take less than 30 seconds, the companies say.

The cost of the drink is added as a fixed-rate call charge to the mobile phone bill and subscribers of any phone company can use the service. For the trial at least, the drinks will be cheaper than those from coin-operated machines.

Harald Bender of Siemens is working on the project and told BBC News Online: "I think using a phone is better than using a smart cards because if I lose the smart card, the money is lost too."