The Jamboree, currently held near Bendigo, Victoria, features a wireless backbone running segregated networks for specialist areas around the camp site as well as IP telephony.

Some 25 Linear Imaging Barcode scanners have been tweaked to work with PDAs (personal data assistants), Hewlett-Packard Co. iPAQ hx 2790s, which are used by the Jamboree officials.

The scanners use software developed by Best Practice Software to collect and store information in a central database. Some 65 desktops and 45 laptops running Advanced Micro Devices Inc. processors have been provided by HP for the scouting festival.

Andrew Rothwell, information systems manager for the 2007 Australian Jamboree, said this is the first Scout event to use an integrated barcode ID system for security and data privacy.

Rothwell said the organization considered using RFID (radio frequency ID) tags, but held off due to the immaturity of the technology.