Retrieval of location-related information

A mobile device comprising:

• a wide-area communication sub-system;
• a first data-capture arrangement for capturing a locality indicator using the wide-area communication sub-system;
• a short-range communication sub-system;
• a second data-capture arrangement for capturing local information using the short-range communication sub-system;
• and
• an information-retrieval arrangement for using the captured locality indicator and local information in combination to retrieve specific information having a relation to the current location of the mobile device.

A service system comprising:

• a database in which items of local information derived from short-range wireless transmitters are stored together with respective further information and respective locality indicators each indicating the locality of the transmitter from where the corresponding item of information was derived;
• a communications interface for interfacing the service system with a communications infrastructure;
• and
• a request handler for receiving a request via the communications interface for specific information having a relation to a location indicated by a locality indicator and local information included in the request, the request handler being operative to use said locality indicator and local information included in the request to find a match in the database and to return from the said further information associated with the match, the requested specific information.