Nokia has confirmed that S60 smartphone users will have access to Lotus email from December following a new deal with IBM, which owns the majority of Symbian.

Nokia said that S60 users, which the company estimates to be 80 million people, will be able to connect to corporate email accounts using Lotus Domino Server software called Lotus Notes Traveler.

"People need to be connected to their email, information and network when they are out of the office, and that has to be done conveniently and on their terms," said Nokia senior vice president Soren Petersen.

The collaboration with IBM is part of Nokia's long-term vision to establish partnerships with the world's major enterprise vendors, according to Petersen. "Lotus Notes Traveler for Nokia devices is a great example of that," he added.

Kevin Cavanaugh, vice president of IBM Lotus Software, suggested that there are great benefits in the partnership.

"We are literally freeing millions of people using Nokia's Symbian platform from having to rely on a desktop or laptop to access their important business communications," he said.