Motorists hoping to car-share could soon find their nearest lift on their mobile phones, scientists have said.

Academics are looking at ways of increasing the number of people who share their cars in an effort to cut congestion and pollution.

Car-sharers would upload their details on to a database, which would be accessible over the internet via mobile phones.

GPS technology would mean their cars and journeys could be tracked on a map over the internet.

A fellow passenger subscribing to the service would then find their nearest car-sharer before phoning the driver and arranging to be picked up.

Social-networking sites such as Facebook could also be used to co-ordinate trips between car-sharers. If the technology is successful it would even be possible to specify personal preferences, such as whether to hitch a lift with a driver who listens to the radio or likes to travel in silence.

The technology is being pioneered by scientists at the University of Nottingham. It is one of three universities to be awarded £12million over the next five years to improve the use of digital technology in the UK, the science minister Lord Drayson is to announce.

Dr Sarah Sharples, one of the researchers behind the project in Nottingham, said: "This could revolutionise the way people go about their everyday lives. We already have the technology with sat-navs and access to the internet through mobile phones.

"But it could be used in different and new ways, such as radically cutting down the number of single-car journeys, whether they be by commuters or shoppers visiting their local high street.

"What we want to do is to explore the potential of mobile technology and in this instance to make it simpler for people to request a lift."