Soundwalk's New York tours are part of a phenomenon: In the digital age, everyone's a tour guide. Professionals and amateurs alike want to show you around neighborhoods, museums and historic sites around the world. Whether you download them to your Nano, connect via cellphone or load a CD into your Discman, the experience is the same: Hit "play" or the "call" button at a designated spot, go where you're told, and allow a local expert to turn your walk into a narrated tour.

The experience is exhilarating. But the most valuable function that Soundwalk serves is as a bridge from personal observation to real-world interaction.

"I am looking for a richer experience. What, I want to know, is the workday Chinatown like?" THE CHRISTIAN MONITOR