IT services firm LogicaCMG has been appointed to design a prototype service centre for the Europe's planned €3.2bn (£2.2bn ) Galileo satellite navigation system.

The service centre will act as an interface for the satellite navigation system, linking end user devices with commercial service applications, such as road pricing, location-based traffic updates and local shopping promotions.

LogicaCMG has been awarded the contract by France Developpement Conseil (FDC), which is running a larger project on behalf of the European Commission and European Space Agency.

If the prototype proves successful the interface could be used more widely to bolster the commercial applications of Galileo, the European equivalent of the US global positioning system.

'It is a crucial element in ensuring wide commercial uptake of the Galileo services and those of EGNOS (the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service, Galileo's precursor,' said Eric Gellée, director of FDC.  

In June, the Galileo Joint Undertaking gave the go ahead for two private consortia, Eurely and iNavSat, to merge their bid for deployment and commercial operation stages of the project.

If negotiations are a success, the public private partnership will launch more than 30 satellites and build ground receiving stations for Galileo, which is set to become operational in 2008.