Verizon Wireless yesterday launched a new service in Hawai'i and across the country that allows parents to locate and track their children via a wireless phone or personal computer.

The Chaperone service starts at $9.99 a month and requires a family to be on a share plan (which costs another $9.99 a month). The service works only with a Verizon Wireless Migo kid's phone, which costs $99.99 with a one-year contract. The service is designed for children ages 5 to 9.

Chaperone is just one of a growing number of so-called "location-based" services, which use global positioning technology to identify a phone's location. That in turn allows phone companies to provide a new range of services.

These new services include providing cell phone users with real-time driving directions and maps with local points of interest. Other services such as Sprint Nextel Corp.'s Comet Tracker notify a parent or employer if their child or employee breaks the speed limit while driving.

Sprint Nextel also offers a family locator service that lets parents use cell phones to determine the location of their child's mobile phone. The phone costs $85 with a one-year contract and the service costs $9.99 a month.

For $19.99 a month, Verizon Wireless lets parents create a "child zone."

A parent can then receive a text message when a child leaves or enters a certain area. With an appropriate phone, parents also can pull up a map showing the general proximity of their child's phone.

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com.