VODAFONE has begun trials of its third-generation (3G) mobile services among British businesses, bringing the mobile operator a step closer to a general launch of the high-tech phones. The technology will allow users to make video phone calls, download music and play games.

The company has also signed an exclusive agreement with South Korea’s Samsung for the supply of its Z100 mobile handset and is understood to be in talks with other suppliers for similar deals.

“We are testing the 3G data card with a number of businesses to get their feedback on the development of the service for our corporate customers,” Vodafone said.

The data card plugs into the back of laptop computers and allows customers to download data such as video and software at high speed. “The type of function we are looking at will give them faster access to business applications so they can work much more effectively in a wireless environment,” a spokesman for Vodafone added.

Vodafone is expected to launch its 3G services in September or October, a year after it had originally hoped, when it will begin competing with Hutchison Whampoa’s 3. Orange and mm02 also intend to launch 3G services towards the end of the year.

A spokesman for Vodafone said the company had begun the second phase of testing its 3G services, having successfully completed internal tests.

Samsung’s Vodafone deal strengthens the early hold on the 3G handset market enjoyed by the Far East, after Japan’s NEC launched a model with 3. Their initial success has come at the expense of the market’s northern-hemisphere powers such as Nokia, Siemens and Motorola.