Finnish handset maker Nokia has tasked its research arm to develop a technology that can charge a mobile phone without plucking into a power point, but by simply using radio waves.

The technology will use the waves emitted by a range of sources - from Wi-Fi transmitters to TV masts.

However, the power involved is small but sufficient to power a mobile in standby mode indefinitely without ever needing to plug it into the mains, said Markku Rouvala, one of the researchers who developed the device at the Nokia Research Centre in Cambridge, UK.

Nokia hopes to roll out the technology by 2013.