Google has released tools that "make it easy for anyone to create programs for Android phones".
Much like Lego, App Inventor lets people drag "blocks" of code around to create applications.
Google said it had been working on the system for a year and were pitched at those with little knowledge of programming.
The tools have been tested over the last 12 months by school children and college students, it said.
The graphical blocks represent the different functions and capabilities of a smartphone.
For instance, one tester of the App Inventor used the GPS locator, timer, and database querying blocks to produce an app that told his friends where he was every 15 minutes...More