Doctors on call will now have a wealth of medical data at their fingertips, thanks to a pioneering Internet link set up by a Didcot company.

Doctors.net.uk - a members-only website - has launched a system that allows GPs to use a mobile phone to surf the Internet for vital information.

Medics will be able to give quicker diagnosis and treatment to patients they visit outside their clinics.

The 35,000 clinicians registered with doctors.net.uk will be able to access Medline, the world's largest medical database, containing 12 million articles.

The system uses the latest wireless application protocol (WAP) technology, which sends e-mail and Internet information to hi-tech mobiles. And it will soon be updated to include additional medical databases. Company medical director and site founder Dr Neil Bacon said WirelessMed was developed after requests from site users.

He said: "Twice as many doctors own mobile phones than PCs. We realised that if we were to improve doctors' care we should use a system that was compatible with the technology they used.

"I went to the US to see the Medline designers and I was surprised to learn that no-one else in the world is doing this."

Dr Bacon said: "Our aim is to improve communication within the medical profession.

"Doctors are always on the move, so supplying this service via a mobile phone will ultimately provide patients with a better service."