ITWorx – a leading developer of software solutions and products for governmental institutions, public service organisations and telecommunications operators throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa – announces the launch of a free social mobile app, available immediately, for Windows® Phone 7 (WP7) (to be launched imminently for Android and iPhone). The ITWorx CityScout app will be revealed at GITEX Technology Week 2011, held at the Dubai World Trade Centre, from the 9th to the 13th of October.

CityScout combines the power of crowd-sourcing, social media, Bing® interactive maps and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies, to allow citizens to view live feeds on traffic updates and to report incidents, via Facebook, directly from their mobile phone.

Users can simply point, capture and publish real-time information on incidents to warn other road users of potential hold-ups and delays. Clicking the icons for a road traffic accident, medical emergency or broken-down vehicle allows CityScout’s GPS to upload an incident to the Bing® View Map and to Facebook. For other types of incident, the user can add more specific information and upload an image by clicking the corresponding Incident type icon.

To maintain the credibility of the system, other users who view the Live Feed have the option of providing feedback on each incident via two icons at the bottom of the screen. These give other users the option to confirm the incident; to report that it is has been cleared; or to report the incident as spam. The visibility of each incident on Bing® View Map is increased as more users click the confirm icon, or decreased if more users click the cleared or spam icon. To further enhance the credibility of CityScout information, each incident is visible on the Bing® View Map for a default of two hours from the initial post or last confirmation, or for any other time period set by the system administrators.

CityScout is based on the Windows® Azure® Platform using Microsoft® SQL Azure to deliver the live feeds and Windows® Azure® AppFabric as the service bus to the back-end system for reporting and viewing incidents; interactive maps are provided by Bing.

Ahmed Badr, Vice President, Professional Services, for ITWorx explains, “CityScout is central to ITWorx ‘Social Collaboration and Mobility in Government’ theme at GITEX 2011. The new app is part of ITWorx Citizen1st portfolio of pioneering and ready-made public-sector software solutions which enable governments and other organisations to deliver next-generation citizen engagement and Gov 2.0 processes, whilst using crowd-sourcing to keep their citizens on the move. For telecommunication operators, CityScout is a powerful new addition to their value-added portfolio of ‘must-have’ apps.”

As a Microsoft Gold Partner for portals and collaboration, content management, business intelligence and software development, ITWorx helps governments, public service institutions and telecommunication companies to develop innovative and highly robust software solutions which enhance citizen experience, streamline business processes, and leverage the power of social and interactive media.