• October 27, 2009

Toyota is launching a new iPhone program to promote its Prius hybrid car. The Prius Experience App, free from the App Store, gives users a 360-degree interior tour of the car.

It lets users tour the car by rotating the iPhone. The app can interact with print ads with the iPhone camera.

Users can "draw" into the environment of the Prius, then watch the car react to the drawn shapes and objects, per Toyota. This week, iPhone users can upload drawings from the iPhone to the Reuters digital billboard in Times Square. Toyota has street teams to help iPhone users upload their drawings.

There is also a 10-level game that uses the iPhone's motion accelerometer. The app is part of the third-generation Prius "Harmony Between Man, Nature and Machine" marketing campaign. In addition to print ads, Toyota is promoting the Prius Experience App on the Prius mobile site at m.toyota.com/prius, the Prius Facebook fan site at www.facebook.com/priusand mobile banners.--Karl Greenberg