I've just returned from another trip to St Petersburg which, as always, was simply fantastic. I've seen many of the typical tourist sites now with the help of a Lonely Planet guide on my original trip but I'm now finding it more appealing to visit local cafes or bars and experience the places that the residents enjoy. Here in the UK, I could take a look at Foursquare for tips or even use Yelp's augmented reality app, Monocle, to guide me to the best places. However, I'm too scared to turn on the web on my iPhone. I've been stung by O2 before as I've accessed data oversees only to be greeted by a huge telephone bill on my return.

While hype around augmented reality or AR has grown over the last year thanks to the innovative work of companies such as Total Immersion, I don't believe that the true potential of this technology for exploring new locations will ever be realised until we can freely access the information overseas. 

The two killer apps I remember seeing a couple of years ago as AR began to appear were location-based guidance or tour guides that directed you to attractions while providing you further information and language translation. Both of these are only really of use in foreign countries and I can only imagine how expensive it would be to download the wealth of data needed by an AR app.

Of course, they'll be other applications for this technology, some will be marketing led while others will prove genuinely useful. Sadly we're going to have to wait for the mobile phone operators to get their act together on reducing overseas data costs before we can travel and use this innovative technology on our mobile devices without fear.