New technology is aiming to bring the 'wow' factor to the London 2012 Games.

Special wireless Olympic handsets providing information and updates look set to be introduced to sports fans at the London 2012 Games, according to Samsung's vice president and head of worldwide sports marketing Gyehyun Kwon.

More than 5,000 members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Beijing Olympic organisers, staff and sports bodies helped test the Wireless Olympic Works (Wow) service at last year's Games.

It worked "very well'', according to Kwon.

He said: "We provide a mobile telephone with special software and functions so that it can navigate any information you can find.

"It will text information from Locog (the London Olympic organisers) and IOC so that you can use your computer as a walkie-talkie and use a mobile phone.

"This would be the first trial open to the public.

"In Beijing we did not open that to the public. It was limited to the Olympic family, local IOC members, sponsors and volunteers.''

Special programmes would have to be downloaded and sports fans would have to buy the special Olympic telephones.

For Athens, it was available in English and Greek, for Turin Italian and English, and it will be in French and English for Vancouver's 2010 Winter Games.

By 2012 it will be available in "every language in the world'', provided it has been installed for download from the Samsung system, Kwon said.

So far the sort of information that can be pulled out on the phone includes event results, schedules, medal count updates, brief biographies of medalists and information about venues and weather.

Kwon explained: "Sport is a universal language to communicate. We believe sports marketing is the perfect vehicle to show our technical ability.''

He is confident of a good fit with London 2012, adding: "London 2012 will be the first time it will be used for the public.

"There will be more participation because the sport events are played in one place.

"I want to help communicate a digital brand and market the Olympic Games as much as possible.''

Samsung, signed up to back the Olympics until 2016, are concerned with providing the technologies and terminals for the Games.

Kwon added: "London 2012 are also very interested in Wow technologies after Vancouver.

"We want to have something different, to have what Locog want in order to make that technology available.

"Samsung cannot do it alone. The local economy is important, the signals and the speed. We need very much more information to do it in a speedy manner.''

Cost and distribution still need to be confirmed for 2012.

Kwon said: "That would be part of the negotiations between Locog, BT and ourselves. The three parties have to agree and the process has not even started yet. At the moment we are very much mentally preparing for Vancouver.''

The Olympic brand is strong and the long-term nature of its contracts mean the event has weathered much of the global economic recession, according to Kwon.

He said: "With the Olympics we have sponsorship up to 2016 - how can we break the contract? We have to keep that going.

"The economic downturn compelled us to focus more on appropriate platforms and streamlining.''