Encyclopaedia Britannica has announced that it is launching a series of educational apps, aimed at 8-12 year-olds, that are "designed to keep kids busy for hours on end with exciting facts, maps, memory games, puzzles, quizzes and videos".

The series will kick off with three apps; Volcanoes, Dinosaurs and Ancient Egypt, which will hit the App Store on 1 September. Each one will cost £4.99 and more will be announced in the next few months.

The apps are iPhone 4 retina screen optimised and they also tap into the iOS map kit meaning that the kids will be able to actually see where their subjects are located and view them via Google Map's satellite imagery.

There's also multi-task support built in to the apps as well, meaning users can simply pick up where they left off with their learning.

"More and more parents are now allowing their children to use their mobile devices and, perhaps more significantly, a large percentage now download games and educational apps specifically for them to use", said Ian Grant, managing director at Encyclopaedia Britannica (UK) Ltd.

"We feel that apps offer huge potential for us and are one of the most effective approaches for reaching out to learners everywhere. The new products will deliver the extensive, reliable content traditionally associated with Encyclopaedia Britannica, in a completely fresh, exciting and compelling format".

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