Tata Docomo is looking to cash in on regional content to grab attention; and has joined hands with IMImobile to launch three value-added services for its users in South India.

The first of these newly-introduced services is the Chalisaas of Hindu deities, including Hanuman, Shani, Shiv, Durga and Tirupathi, now made available in regional languages. To access this content, subscribers need to dial 52345003 and select the language in which they would desire the service.

The second service is Astro-Panchang, aimed at staunch followers of Indian Vedic Astrology. Those wanting to subscribe to this service need to dial 52345001 to start receiving Astro predictions everyday and also synchronize their best days and times through Panchang.

No VAS service in South India can be complete without a dose of South Indian movie tidbits. Predictably, the third service is South Movie Masala that covers South Indian movie happenings, including music, film-related news, star trivia and movie previews in Tamil, Telegu, Kannada and Malayalam. The short code for this service is 52345005.

These services are basic and have been offered by mobile content providers for years. In days when mobile internet access is commonplace, such services may soon become redundant. At best this may be viewed as a bid to increase its APRU among users of basic handsets. However, considering that Docomo has been pretty innovative in pitching itself in the Indian market, we expect it to come with more interesting ways of grabbing eyeballs.