Sacramento - A tent city that sprang up in the California state capital of Sacramento and became a symbol of the country's desperate economic plight is to be closed within three weeks, the Sacramento Bee reported Friday.

Mayor Kevin Johnston said the plan was to move hundreds of the tent city residents to "safer, more sanitary" quarters and cordon off the pasture which they had called home.

Sacramento, Nov 25 : The Transportation Department of Northern California, which has banned cell phones in cars, is allowing people headed to Tahoe for the holidays to turn their devices on, to test the efficacy of a new software program in sending information regarding traffic conditions to travellers’ handsets.

The new software, called Traffic Pilot, can give a real-time colour-coded map on the cell phone showing how fast traffic ahead is going.

According to sponsors, it''''s a major step towards ‘real time’ tools to battle congestion, basically turning car cabins into commute command centers.

Phones can be programmed to give drivers verbal warnings about problems ahead.