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ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Parks Canada hopes to attract tech-savvy young visitors with a pilot project at two sites this summer.

Multimedia hand-held GPS devices loaded with special content are being introduced at Signal Hill National Historic Site in St. John's, N.L., and Kejimkujik National Park in Nova Scotia.

Hikers can use the gadgets to view text, images, sound and video.

At Signal Hill, the devices will present information about historical and natural features of two coastal trails. At Kejimkujik, they will have details on flora and fauna and the Mi'kmaq's relationship with the landscape. The units can be picked up at each site's visitors centre and are free to use during this year's pilot project.

"This is the first North American project like this," says Tamara Tarasoff, new media specialist for Parks Canada.

Similar technology has been used at a national park in Switzerland and another in France in the past two years, says Tarasoff.

"People really like it there -- and in Europe they're pretty serious hikers. It's like having a field guide at your fingertips at all times. You don't have to carry around big books. You can just carry around one little device."

Parks Canada will assess the response of visitors before deciding on future uses of the technology.

"We feel that this innovative technology will appeal to our existing visitors and will attract new audiences, especially young, technologically-savvy Canadians," Parks Canada CEO Alan Latourelle says.