Speech-recognition specialist MobileVoiceControl is partnering with USA Today publisher Gannett to bring natural voice access to the newspaper's content on BlackBerry handhelds offered by Sprint Nextel.

Users can now search for information by pressing an assigned button on a BlackBerry and speaking the request. The BlackBerry Browser is automatically launched and opened to a page displaying the requested content from USA Today sections: News, Money, Sports, Life and Weather.

Top stories, sports scores, weather forecasts, movie times, 411 information, and stock quotes information will be offered at first. Localized content from other Gannett-owned newspapers and broadcast television stations is planned for the future.

According to USAToday.com director of mobile products Matt Jones, "This partnership is an excellent way to extend timely, relevant USA Today content and continue to meet our customer's needs for easy access to information while they are on the go."

The system also gives users the ability to dial by voice command, verbally add appointments to their calendars, and to dictate emails instead of typing them. The Software is downloadable over the air and doesn't require voice training.

"We are confident that BlackBerry users will enjoy the powerful yet, simple-to use, MobileVoice application," asserted Steve Burns, President of MobileVoiceControl.

The USA Today deal appears to be an extension of MobileVoiceControl's March announcement of its newest speech recognition product for RIM handhelds, VoiceControl_bb. The software runs on OS 4.1 and higher BlackBerrys, including the 7100i, 7520, 7130e, and 8700.

As with other mobile speech recognition software from VoiceSignal and others, VoiceControl_bb requires no voice training. With it, you can use your voice to place phone calls to people who are in your address book by name, dial numbers by digits, add an appointment to the BlackBerry calendar, dictate and send an e-mail, bring up a Web site, display contacts, as well as look up a weather forecast, yellow page address and number, sports score, movie time and more.

What's interesting about the Gannett agreement is that MobileVoiceControl has taken this technology and made it content specific to USA Today.