Mobile phone operator 3UK has teamed up with Finnish handset maker Nokia to allow customers to pay for apps on their monthly bill.

The deal will allow customers of Nokia's Ovi Store to shun the third party financial service fees or premium rate SMS service to make payment for apps.

3UK’s page on the Ovi Store will feature a new section called “Three Likes” where a choice of forty apps recommended by 3UK will appear.

Conor Pierce, general manager at Nokia, said that they were very excited to be supporting
3UK with the new concept via the Ovi Store.

Speaking on the topic, Pierce added, "We are extremely pleased to be able to provide operators an easy and flexible way in which to both differentiates themselves in the market place as well as providing a unique and targeted offering to their consumers.”

However, there seems to be a constraint; only the latest version of Symbian will be able to support this.

Nokia’s newly launched X7 smartphone, which is the first handset to run a new version of the Ovi Store, will allow users to utilize the new service.