Where Sci-Fi Meets The Net

Adams thinks the beauty of the Web is that "people can add to the guide, argue with it, correct it--it's more like a real conversation, so you can trust what is on it." The global travel industry is starting to take a leaf from Adams' book, preparing to offer up its own, more staid travel guides via mobile phones. For example, Thomas Cook, a global travel agency formed in 1831, recently started offering guides to the top 25 tourist destinations via wireless application protocol (WAP) mobile phones, and plans to add international rail, ferry and bus schedules. Eventually, it may start targeting niche communities of mobile-phone users such as snowboarders or golfers with tailored mobile-phone services, says Richard Roberts, head of mobile commerce at Thomas Cook's London headquarters. "The principle of getting feedback, engaging in conversations and the creation of community interest is exactly the right thing we should be facilitating," Roberts says. If Adams and travel-industry gurus are right, wireless Internet phones will increasingly be used by people to make entries or access guides while at ski slopes, golf courses, holiday resorts and restaurants. And before long, their views and tips will be instantly available to everyone on Earth, just as they were to the fictional galactic hitchhikers in Adams' books.