Angry Birds Magic and Nokia phones flock together with NFC

Nokia phones will flock together with Angry Birds Magic, a new version of the smash hit game. Tapping your new Nokia C7 to another Nokia phone will unlock new annoyed avians, by the magic of near-field communications (NFC).

Angry Birds Magic wants you to make contact with other Nokia phones that contain NFC chips in order to continue playing. You will need the latest version of Nokia's Symbian software, Symbian Anna, out soon, to play the game.

NFC allows devices to communicate with each other when they're physically close together, and is often used for contactless payment. Orange is teaming up with Barclaycard, for example, to allow you to pay for things in shops with a carefree wave of your phone over the till. Unfortunately, the C7 doesn't have the right chip to enable secure payments.

It's not exactly a multiplayer game, as you don't play against the other person -- instead an NFC rendezvous unlocks more levels. The first five levels are packed with the feathered carnage we're used to, but when you complete the last level, you need to find a friend with a phone. Once you've done that, you can play the next five levels -- whereupon you'll have to find another friend to play the next set of levels, and so on.

Levels will also be unlocked by NFC tags hidden in unknown objects -- perhaps in Angry Birds toys?

Angry Birds makers Rovio gave us a first look at the game at an NFC conference in Monaco this week. Here's the video of Nokia's narked nest-dwellers in typically destructive action:

Angry Birds Magic will be available through Nokia's Ovi Store this year. Is this the next generation of casual gaming on your mobile phone? Bird-bomb the comments with your thoughts.