Scientists have developed what they claim are new barcodes big enough to hold images or video which can then be downloaded by camera phones.

A team at Edith Cowan University is looking for a way out for multimedia data to be stored in barcodes and retrieved with a mobile phone camera snapshot, allowing software such as ringtones to be 'downloaded' from mediums like magazines.

They have named it the mobile multi-colour composite 2D-barcode, the media reported.

Lead scientist Dr Alfred Tan said: "The MMCC is a colour two-dimensional barcode designed for storing high capacity data on printed media and displays, tailor made for camera mobile phone applications.

"Using the MMCC, the user can retrieve digital content to their camera mobile phone directly from the barcode by capturing an image of the barcode and decoding it on their mobile."

According to the scientists, by taking a photo of the barcode, users can download complex information, such as videos, voice recordings or text, directly to their mobile -- this information will be transferred to the mobile regardless of whether it is connected to the Internet or a mobile.

"The system is particularly suited for use in areas with limited Internet access. The MMCC can encode and store multimedia content such as ring tones, video clips and games, so that these can be delivered to any camera mobile phones anywhere without the need for mobile connectivity.

"It could also encode and store multimedia tourism contents in foreign languages so that tourists with a camera mobile phone can listen to the commentary at remote tourist sites, without the need to read English," Dr Tan said.