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The mobile weather wars heated up today with WeatherBug's announcement that its forecast and information service is now available for handsets running Microsoft's Windows Mobile Smartphone platform.

WeatherBug make use of 8,000 tracking stations and over 1,000 cameras to generate neighborhood level reports every second. It asserts other weather providers offer data up to an hour or more old.

(One of these competitors, The Weather Channel, inked a deal last week to convey live video streams to MobiTV, a cell phone television firm.)

The new WeatherBug application delivers wireless access to local weather, severe weather alerts, forecasts, radar, images, and conditions for 200 countries on a Windows Mobile handset.

The company's senior VP and general manager Andy Jedynak says Windows Smartphone access makes WeatherBug a better service.

He asserts, "Now thanks to our availability on Windows Mobile-based Smartphones, we endeavor to extend our leadership by offering a new kind of downloadable weather application for wireless devices."

WeatherBug Mobile for Windows Smartphone sells for $14.95. Similar WeaatherBug services are available for Java and WAP-enabled phones.

The Windows Mobile Smartphone operating system runs a distant second to the Symbian platform in the worldwide smartphone stakes. It is also number two to the Palm OS in the U.S. because of the popular palmOne Treo 600 series. There are reports that the next version of Windows Mobile, due soon—with BlackBerry-like push capabilities—could boost the platform’s fortunes.