An iPhone application which allows people to virtually paint graffiti has been launched in San Francisco.The app, called Graff City, uses augmented reality software to create the impression that the user is painting any surface within view.
A picture can be taken of the artwork and can then be uploaded to Facebook or sent to another user.Anyone visiting a tagged location can also view the virtual graffiti.
"The goal is to give young people who might be tempted to tag or vandalize property an alternative," said Tyra Fennell who works on an arts programme in San Francisco.
She said that she thought a significant number of graffiti artists would have the technology to be able to use the app."The presumption is that people who tag are lowlifes or thugs," she said.
"That is not true. There are people in private school who tag. And I have a sense that most people have cell phones, and a large number have iPhones."But Bob Van Gelder, the president of a graffiti removal company said he did not think the app would deter taggers.
"My first thought is they could use it as a sketch which they would then transfer to a wall with real paint", he said.
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