Shankar Mahadevan at the Mobisur launch

If auditioning for an Indian Idol is not your way of showing off your vocal skills, try Mobisur on the Internet.

The digital singing idol contest called Mobisur — derived from the three words “mobile, Internet and sur” — is the brainchild of Shankar Mahadevan. You can either log on to www.mobi-sur.com to create your profile and upload your singing video, or dial 546465 from your mobile phone and record your voice before entries close on August 26.

“I got this idea from a talent hunt portal I came across on the Internet a year ago. The digital platform is the biggest and most popular today, even in our country. Yet it’s quite unexplored. Why not use this easy and convenient mode of reaching out to a larger number of people who can sit at home and showcase their talent instead of having to queue up for hours or travel long distances.... A mobile or Internet will help anyone give it a shot,” Shankar told t2 from Mumbai after launching the talent hunt contest last week.

Open to all, the entry song will have to be recorded on raw vocals without the use of any background score or instrument. The duration of the recording will have to be within 60 to 180 seconds.

“To spot a talent, you don’t need more than a few seconds,” added Shankar, who will hand-pick the ones with a spark towards the latter half of the contest and groom them for the finals.

Divided into four rounds, contestants will be shortlisted by a jury and their screened videos and song clippings will be posted on the site, which is open for public voting in round two. In round three, contestants will have to face the camera and sing their song. Thirty of them make it to the finals.

The two winners — a male and a female — will win prize money of Rs 5 lakh and a chance to feature in a musical composition by Shankar that will be released within three months from the announcement.

So, here’s your chance to be more than just a bathroom singer!