Symbian, the operating system used in the majority of the world's smartphones, is now available as an open source platform four months ahead of schedule as it looks to compete with Apple and Google's Android.

It reveals that it is in a process of giving away "billions of dollars" worth for free of charge mobile phone software.

The move signifies that any organization or individual can now have an access and can modify the platform's underlying source code as per the need.

Also the firm speculates that its plans will lure new developers to work on the system and support speed up the pace of improvements, posing a threat to Apple and Android.

Lee Williams, executive director of the Symbian Foundation, said: "The development community is now empowered to shape the future of the mobile industry, and rapid innovation on a global scale will be the result.

Currently Symbian development is conquered by Nokia, however, the foundation hoped to squeeze the firm's input to at max 50%" by the middle of 2011.

Symbian has been experiencing a loose over the publicity battle despite being the world's most popular smart phone operating system, with Google's Android operating system and Apple's iPhone dominating recent headlines.