MUMBAI: Comviva, the leading provider of integrated value added services for operators in emerging markets today announced that it has engaged Nuance Communications, Inc, (NASDAQ: NUAN), the leading provider of speech and imaging solutions, to build a speech-based song search application for telecom service providers in India. The application, due for release in October 2009 and named �Song Search', will significantly enhance the usability of music search applications on mobile phones, allowing users to access music content with the power of their voice.

Research shows that the number one challenge for consumers who want a particular song for their ring tone or as a ring back tone is actually finding the song. For services without speech recognition, users face a laborious process of browsing through a series of category-based menus such as new arrivals, classics, devotional songs among many others, and then browsing through song options from the specific category. These could number in the thousands. For existing services offering speech recognition, the user typically needs to know the precise title of the song, which many consumers don't always accurately recall.

�Song Search' will eliminate the need for mobile consumers to key in text or navigate complex menu hierarchies while searching for music or ringtones. Instead, it will allow users to speak the words of the title of the song as the user remembers it and select to download. The application is flexible and allows for any combination of words in the title (or only part of the title), rather than remembering the exact order of words in the title. This will enhance the user's service experience enormously, creating a new growth spurt in India's already highly popular ring back tone market.

As part of the professional services contract, Nuance will develop �Song Search's' user interface design, grammar and tuning services for songs in Hindi and Indian regional languages. This will be a one of its kind of service in India that will allow searching across Music related services such as ring tones, ring back tone, music, radio, etc.

Manoranjan Mohapatra, CEO, Comviva said, Voice-based services in VAS are the key to providing exceptional consumer experiences – and we are expecting �Song Search' to impress mobile users. We anticipate that the design and flexibility of the system, combined with the accuracy of recognition rates will make it significantly easier for consumers to find and download the songs they want. For Comviva, as the pioneer of ring back tone solutions in the Indian market, Nuance is a natural partner because of their world class professional services team and outstanding technological capabilities in speech recognition....

Sunny Rao, Managing Director, India and South East Asia, Nuance Communications said, Nuance is excited to be working with Comviva on this important initiative to improve services to customers in one of the world's largest mobile markets. Our local and international professional services teams have deployed many complex voice search systems such as �Song Search'. The Nuance teams will be exploiting their significant expertise to deliver a superior solution, across multiple languages, which Comviva can deploy quickly and efficiently to ensure an unrivalled voice-enabled search and service experience for mobile users....