At first, the Orange App Shop will be filled with 2,000 games, 500 applications and ringtones, and wallpapers for some Java-enabled phones, according to Christophe Francois, director of multimedia at Orange.

However, plans call for the App Shop to become available on Android-based phones and Research In Motion's BlackBerry devices during the first quarter of next year, putting the shop head-to-head with already-existing application stores for those platforms.

Symbian and possibly Windows phones will also be supported in the future, Francois said.

Orange thinks it can attract users to its own shop by offering payment via users' mobile-phone bills, so they don't have to register their credit cards with a third party. Also, if users run into problems they can call Orange customer service, he said.

Orange also hopes to gain an edge over the competition by featuring apps that include local content, such as those about restaurants and cinemas, on the front page of the store, he said.