Three bikers will be GPS tracked by VeriLocation on a new international charity ride – just by carrying BlackBerry mobile phones.
Rod Jackson, Lee Davies and Craig Williams plan to ride their motorbikes from Luton to Africa and back in just two weeks in the trip, dubbed Operation:Sandstorm.
VeriLocation has just agreed a new sponsorship, meaning supporters will be able to follow the journey online.
Together with mobile phone company O2, it has given each of the bikers a new BlackBerry 8900 device.
“It means their exact location at any time can be seen by anyone on any computer screen,” said VeriLocation’s Andrew Overton.
“The BlackBerry device uses the GPS satellites to be constantly aware of its exact location. It sends that information back from anywhere in the world using the mobile phone networks.
“Supporters will be able to log onto the ride website www.operation-sandstorm.co.uk and watch the bikers’ progress.”
Andrew added: “The real advantage of being GPS tracked with your BlackBerry is that you don’t need to buy or install any special equipment.
“You can track any BlackBerry that has a GPS chip just by downloading some software.
“It’s really clever technology but is also in widespread use. VeriLocation alone tracks more than 10,000 devices and vehicles around the world.”
You can get a two week free trial of BlackBerry tracking here.
Last year the three bikers – who all work for the world’s second largest recruitment and HR firm Randstad – raised £30,000 during a 14 day trip through 17 countries.
The money goes to Tomorrow's People, a charity that has helped change the lives of thousands of people across the UK over the last 25 years, by helping them retrain to get back to work.
VeriLocation is developing a reputation for tracking people taking part in charity rides.
Recently it helped two bikers raise £13,000 for the charity Riders for Health, tracking them through 12 countries in six days.
And last year it tracked celebrities Alan Shearer and Adrian Chiles on a sponsored two day cycle ride in the UK.