A SERIES of state-of-the-art interactive signs allowing shoppers and tourists to find out more about Oxford are set to be rolled out across the city.

The hi-tech system will include around 70 signs and could cost £350,000.

People will be able to use their smart phones to scan the signs to link through to webpages featuring more information about the area.

The first sign has now been installed at the top of St Ebbe’s Street as part of a trial to see how shoppers react.

The prototype sign features information about the project and a smart phone link for people to fill out an online questionnaire.

Future signs would display information about the area in which they stand, such as local history, architecture and maps.

The displays will feature QR codes, which when scanned with a smart phone, will link to up-to-date information about events and activities.

City council leader Bob Price said: “The current finger signs and information boards are 10 years old and outdated.

“We found a lot of tourists not knowing where they are going.”

The council looked at similar schemes in London, Bristol and Cambridge for inspiration.

The concept and design for the scheme has been developed by environmental design consultancy Placemarque, which developed a similar scheme in London.

Cllr Price said: “We thought it looked very attractive and Oxford’s will be unique.”

The 70 signs will reach as far as the historical city gates at The Plain, Folly Bridge, the train station and up to St Clement’s.

The QR codes, which can be read using a smart phone application, can cost up to £500 a month to generate.

But the city council’s IT department has designed its own, and each of the individual web pages which the codes are proposed to link to will be maintained by staff at Oxford’s tourism information centre in Broad Street.

A city council spokesman said there were currently no plans to generate any revenue from the signs.

People are invited to give their feedback via a short questionnaire at www.oxford.gov.uk/wayfinding. There will also be public drop-in sessions at Bonn Square on Tuesday, October 18, and Wednesday, October 19, between 10am and 2pm.