Reliance IndiaMobile, the mobile telephony arm of Reliance Infocomm Ltd, has launched voice tones and special sound effects on its handsets for the first time in India.

Voice tones enable the user to hear 'the phone talking' when he/she gets a call, instead of the normal ring tones, said the company in a media release on Wednesday.

In addition to voice tones, Reliance has also launched FX sound ring tones.

These specialised ring tones are available with all Samsung and colour LG handsets of Reliance IndiaMobile.

Reliance IndiaMobile is the first service provider to offer full polyphonic ring tones in India, the company said.

The release said that soon it will also be possible for a customer to record the voice of loved ones and download them as voice tones on their phones. World over, downloadable ring tones are the most popular service in the wireless world after messaging.

Downloadable ring tones have been available within the R-World menu of Reliance IndiaMobile phones since the launch of the service.

Reliance IndiaMobile is now offering voice tones with humorous wordings in various regional dialects and accents.

Some of the Hindi voice tones include, "Apki ghanti baj rahi hai," Mai naa kahti thi phone bajega"; "Phone bajing and bajing and bajing"; "Huzoor, aap ka phone uthaayie  na…",  Uncle, uncle… aap ka phooone" and "Arre, phonewa utha bhi lo mere bhai, incoming free hai."

The special sound effect ring tones available include animal sounds, techno sounds, mechanical sounds, and many more specialised sounds, the company said.

Some of these special sound ring tones include bird chirp, cow moo, wind whoosh, plane take-off, cuckoo's clock, door bell, church bell, bubble sound, water drip, liquid pouring, American police siren and camera click.

Apart from adding distinctiveness, ring tones add an element of fun and personalisation. By assigning a specific ring tone to a frequently received number, a Reliance IndiaMobile phone user can immediately know who is calling.

For voice tones to work, it is necessary that handsets should support advanced audio formats and the service provider should have the infrastructure and the content to offer the service. Users can download voice tones from the R-World menu of Reliance IndiaMobile phones.