Virtualization company VMware says that its new platform for virtualization will enable organizations to smartphones and mobile devices will appear in phones next year.

Mobile phone is now as important for business desktop computers, but also serves as a mobile computer, in many cases, said Stephen Herrod, VMware CTO, speaking at industry conferences Interop in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Although Herrod said that the project is still in its early stages, researchers are working on the VMware virtualization VMware mobile platform that will create a virtual machine for mobile devices, allowing users to move their phone for different phones.

VMware is currently negotiating with manufacturers of devices and technologies should be incorporated into the new phone at a certain stage in 2010, said Fredrik Sjostedt, VMware EMEA director of marketing products. “The technology exists, and is up and running, but it should be something that is on the phone when they have acquired”, Sjostedt told ZDNet UK on Wednesday.

Virtualization of mobile phones means users of the phones will be portable files that can be moved from one phone to another. This means that users who lose or damage the phones can download data more easily, and corporate IT departments will have less headache support, said Sjostedt. Potentially, companies can also run multiple virtual phone on one phone.

“Email settings, provide access to the Web and corporate applications on the phone is a nightmare, especially where users went and bought a new phone. This means you have a layer of abstraction between the application and the phone operating system, so you can put one and the same image on a Nokia or Motorola mobile phone, very easy “, Sjostedt said. “Companies will be able to say - just bring your phone to us, and we’ll create a style that can sit beside the personal identity. You can have your own files and photos without compromising corporate security or data at risk.”

Mobile virtualization will mean manufacturers of phones will be able to introduce new features and applications faster, Sjostedt added. Currently, phone companies may spend 18 or 24 months of testing new features on different platforms and models - but it can be eliminated by using the virtual phone. VMware is currently in advanced negotiations with all major phone manufacturers, Sjostedt said.

Mobile virtualization, perhaps another idea ahead of its time, according to Clive Longbottom, research director with Quocirca. “At the moment there is an element of” What is the point? “But it is certainly interesting in a year or two,” said Longbottom.

Longbottom believes the most valuable use of mobile virtualization will be in corporate settings, where it can be difficult to get full functionality of enterprise applications on mobile devices.

“I can see that the field engineer may be useful for working hours using the application, it is possible to switch on your laptop and see a picture of boiler plans and instructions, when the need arises. Being able to share the mobile in different systems, potentially can be very powerful, “he said. “However, at this point, I do not think that devices like iPhone, are complex and powerful enough to deal with this type of technology.”