Well, it's free for consumers, but not free for South Africa Tourism...
South Africa Tourism has partnered with London developer agencyX to launch a World Cup Countdown application for iPhone.
The app is free, and shows users a timer counting down to the start of this summer's World Cup - accompanied by photos of the sights of South Africa.
agencyX says it's using an innovative pay-per-download business model for the app: the tourism body only pays it when the app is downloaded by a user, rather than an upfront fee.
"Our pay-per-download model ensures a mutual risk and reward sharing between the agency and client," says agencyX director Craig Llewelyn-Williams.
We got in touch with agencyX to find out exactly how this model works - what happens to control costs for South Africa Tourism if the app goes viral and racks up millions of downloads?
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According to agencyX, it agrees a cap on the number of downloads per campaign with clients, and then once that number is reached, the app can be removed from the App Store, or the client can agree a new cost-per-download to keep it up.
World Cup Countdown is unlikely to be the last World Cup app we see this year, although FIFA will be keeping an eye on the App Store for unlicensed use of its trademarks. With South Africa Tourism being an official body, we're assuming its app is fully licensed.
