Rakuten and NTT DoCoMo announced that their joint-venture company Rakuten Auction is launching an auction service that does not require auctioneers (sellers) or winning bidders to divulge private information to one another. The JV company was formed about 1 year ago in 2005.

the upcoming NTT DoCoMo phones in Japan

Compatible handsets for the new service, dubbed "Rakuten Auction," will be FOMA models sold since the launch of the 900i series (with some exceptions). As part of the service, a social networking site linked to the auction site will enable "Rakuten Auction" users to communicate with others who share a common interest in auctions.

Rakuten Auction will handle deliveries and payments without requiring auction participants to reveal user information, and will provide easy guidance to using the system, taking part in auctions and viewing details of transactions.

The service will be available to PC users from today and will be listed in the i-mode portal from November 20.