It's well-known that mobile phones are revolutionizing communications across the globe, particularly in developing countries where landline infrastructure is lacking in many rural and urban areas. They are the only means of communication for hundreds of millions of people, and have opened up economic opportunities for their owners, who can use them to find out about job openings, advertise services, or operate complementary businesses such as charging phone batteries.

But mobile phones aren't everyone's friend. To dictators and leaders of oppressive regimes, mobiles are often seen as more of a nuisance, as disruptive and something to be wary of, to fear and control. These ubiquitous little devices have already been responsible for the downfall of a number of leaders, most noticeably Philippine President Joseph Estrada, who was forced from office in early 2001 following text-message-fueled mass demonstrations in Manila.

Where democracy is under pressure around the world, the mobile phone is increasingly seen as a tool that may help stop the rot. My interest in the subject centers on the use of a text-messaging hub I developed back in 2005, which has since been used by a number of human rights organizations, particularly Nigeria last year to monitor the presidential elections, in Pakistan during the recent state of emergency and now in Zimbabwe during the election crisis.

Media interest in the subject is also on the rise, with a recent article in The Economist examining the use of mobile technology in political activism. Its description of the battle between activists and governments as a game of "cat and mouse" could not be more accurate, and continues to draw parallels today with events in Zimbabwe and Tibet.

When oppressive regimes put a stranglehold on the local media, and actively engage in campaigns of misinformation, activists turn to whatever tools they can to redress the balance. Increasingly, these tools are mobile technologies: Camera phones that capture images of beatings and civil-rights abuses, and text messages coordinating and informing citizens, are just two examples of an increasing use of the technology as activists try to keep up with, and stay one step ahead of, their opponents.

Mobile technology is today playing a growing role in Zimbabwe, a country with a largely state-owned media and a president unwilling to relinquish power. The future of the country continues to rest on a knife edge, as it seems to have done for the past two weeks (or the past few years, depending on your perspective). Like many people with an interest in the country, and like many others with friends or relatives living and working there, I've been closely following events on TV and online. International news sites such as the BBC have been as good as ever, but I've also been spending increasing amounts of time on local sites, which, I feel, often give a 'truer', more personal sense of what's going on. One of the best sites for this has been Kubatana.net.