Let Freedom "Ring"

Celebrate your culture, your country, and the fine principles that your flag stands for by programming your national anthem as a ring tone.

Of course, there's the minor inconvenience of having to curb the urge to stand up and salute every time somebody calls you. But otherwise, you have a ring tone that literally pays tribute to your culture, no matter where you happen to be. And in a global village where people move across continents the way some people would take a bus to another part of the city, it's a nice (and incredibly easy) way of feeling a bit connected to home. Cheaper than making a long distance call. Less cumbersome than waving around a flag (try sticking that into your suit). And definitely more unique and meaningful than the standard ring tones that are packaged into a phone. Why sound like everybody else, when you can have the sounds of home?

National anthem ringtones are particularly popular for immigrants, who may have changed citizenship but still feel (understandably) a link to their old roots. They may be millions of miles away from family, friends, and everything familiar, but their phone rings and they're transported to the old country.

Even second or third generation immigrants like downloading ringtones that can serve as a symbolic celebration of their roots. It's part of their search for identity and expression of their tribal pride. After all, there's an emerging trend towards embracing ethnicity, from the sudden popularity of wooden beads to ivy league universities organizing "culture clubs". Downloading the national anthem ring tone into one's phone is just one aspect of that movement.

And you have to admit, that kind of ring tone makes for an excellent conversation piece, especially when you're in a crowded club trying to "connect" to somebody you find attractive, or stumbling through the first awkward minutes of a blind date. Your phone rings, and naturally, you now have an opportunity to say something about yourself. See, these things have their practical uses. (Aside, of course, from letting you know that someone is trying to reach you!)

National anthem ringtones can also be a seasonal download. If you're more into downloading dance tunes or classical music or the theme of the latest movies, no problem. But why not try it out to celebrate your country's independence day, where you can literally let freedom ring. It's such a simple way of showing your patriotic side!

It doesn't matter what country you're from; the diversity of national anthem ringtones means that you can probably find what you need on the Internet. A small island in the Mediterranean, a tiny landlocked country in the Eastern Bloc, a little-known Asian kingdom-it's all there. All you need is to go to the website, type in the name of your country or the title of your national anthem, and you'll find it, ready to download and play. Now, if only visas were just as easy to get.