Scanbuy will provide barcode software that Vivo customers can download for free on their handsets. Marketers and content providers can access the ScanLife Code Registry and Management platform to create and manage 2D barcodes.

“Barcodes are created to make things simpler,” said Jonathan Bulkeley, CEO of Scanbuy, New York. “Who can make use of this technology? The world — Coke, Procter & Gamble, the drycleaner around the corner and maybe even a 13-year-old who wants a barcode to link people to his MySpace page.

“We are trying to make it easier for consumers to access content on their mobile phones and to navigate easily,” he said.

Vivo is a joint venture between Telefonica and Portugal Telecom. The company claims to be the largest carrier in the Southern Hemisphere.

Scanbuy partnered with EverMobile to deliver the ScanLife service in Brazil.

Scanbuy’s ScanLife platform is currently in use in France, Spain, the Philippines, China and the United States, with other markets on the radar for future deals in 2008. ScanLife will support EZcodes designed to let camera phones recognize and process information.

“To make this whole system work, you need to get software on phones,” Mr.  Bulkeley said. “Carriers need to partner and support [the technology]. It’s really about working with Vivo and other carriers to enable their phones to read codes.”

The expectations for this partnership are that every photo-enabled phone in Brazil will eventually be scanning codes.

“Our technology aims to simplify navigation for consumers and to allow the phone to link to the world around you very simply with one click,” Mr. Bulkeley said.