Tonchidot announced the global availability of the iPhone application “Sekai Camera,” a social, Augmented Reality (AR) service for browsing and sharing user-generated text, photo, voice, and other location-linked information. Launched September 2009 in Japan, Sekai Camera was recently named the Best App in 2009 by Apple Japan. Sekai Camera is now available for free outside Japan at iPhone’s AppStore worldwide (search for “Sekai Camera”).

“Sekai Camera is social, and so much fun! It is serendipity here and now. Sekai Camera will become a platform for new games, entertainment and communication. We are collaborating with many partners to create fun content. So please, join us!”

The Sekai Camera application features AR and location-based services that allow users to interact with and communicate in the real world in ways that they have never been able to do before. While most mobile AR applications today are navigation oriented, Sekai Camera is social by design, giving users the ability to communicate and have fun through interaction with digital tags that float in the real world. Sekai Camera has created a completely new interface for connecting the real world to the Web.

“Look up! Sekai Camera will change the world – please imagine!,” says Tonchidot CEO, Takahito Iguchi. “Sekai Camera is social, and so much fun! It is serendipity here and now. Sekai Camera will become a platform for new games, entertainment and communication. We are collaborating with many partners to create fun content. So please, join us!”

Some of the user generated and social communications features of Sekai Camera include:

1. Create : a Sekai Camera World

Air Tag: Create and browse futuristic location-linked digital Post-its® that float in real space. See and share in real time, text, photo, voice, and web-links that are posted as Air Tags. Leave your footprint in the real world!

Air Filter: Search for the Air Tags that you are looking for. By specifying time, distance and type, you can sort through the many floating Air Tags around any given location.

Air Pocket: Bookmark your favorite Air Tags and put them in your “pocket”. View and comment on Air Tags even when you are not at the location where the Air Tags were originally posted.

2. Communicate : a New Serendipity Experience

Sekai Life: Create a life-stream that shows how you and your friends have interacted with Sekai Camera in a timeline display. Follow other users and view their comments and actions.

Air Profile: Register and display your own profile as a personalized Air Tag. This virtual name-tag floats right above your iPhone for others to see – look up!

Air Tweet: See your Tweets as floating Air Tags, which are enabled through a mash-up with Twitter®.

Air Shout: Send and receive Air Tag messages that fly up to a distance of 100 meters.