The Financial Times had an interesting piece this week that talks about new Nokia software that allows you to disguise your location by providing fake background noise, like traffic or a thunderstorm. This is a lot like the SounderCover service I blogged earlier this year. This service, which I don't think was named in the FT piece, works on certain Nokia phones, and works in real time: as a call is coming in, you decide if you want a background alibi. The software also allows you to have a background phone ring in 15 seconds, so you can plead busyness, and end an unwanted call.

But the article also digs into something more interesting: a social alibi network for SMS users, formed as a club within the SMS.ac service:

Rhymer Rigby

[from Phoney excuses at the touch of a button]

"One man went to a party until four in the morning," continues Mr Wilfahrt. "He couldn't go into work the next day so he solicited responses from the club. Eventually he got a female club member to pose as his wife and say that he was ill." His boss bought the tale - even though the man in question was unmarried.

"Of course, this sort of thing has always happened," says Jakob Nielsen, a consultant on IT usability at the US-based Norman Nielsen Group. "But with alibi clubs you have access to a whole world to back you up."

Moreover, continues Mr Nielsen, not only can users draw from a deeper pool of excuses, but people are also far less likely to have a problem lying to strangers; in fact they may even find it rather fun. "You don't know who you're covering for and the social constraints break down. We've seen a lot of this already with e-mail. People are far more likely to be rude because it's less personal," says Mr Nielsen.