By Alex Kirby BBC News Online environment correspondent in Nairobi

The United Nations has been given $15m to help it tackle poverty and the spread of cities.

The grant will provide geographic information systems software to urban planners, and train them in its use.

The money is to be shared among 1,000 cities in the developing world and comes from the Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri), a US company.

The cash is going to the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), set up to help governments tackle the problems of rapid urbanisation.

Map making

Habitat is also responsible for implementing one of the Millennium Development Goals, the commitment to improve the lives of 100 million slum dwellers by 2020.

The grant was announced during the meeting in Nairobi of the governing council of the UN Environment Programme (Unep), which shares Habitat's Kenya offices.

"Most local authorities in the world have outdated information about the state of their cities," said Mrs Anna Tibaijuka, Habitat's Executive Director. "Few of them have the technologies to collect and analyse data about basic infrastructure and the current status of housing."

It's going to let us take the pulse of our cities across the world Jeanne Rebstock Foust, Esri

"If we are going to improve the living conditions of the urban poor, city authorities must be provided with the necessary tools, technology and training," she said.

"This generous grant will enable cities in the developing world to produce accurate and accessible information."

She said it would help city planners to identify areas with high infant mortality rates, for example, or slums without basic services, helping them to target their resources.

Urban indicators they will be able to quantify include poverty, environmental degradation, inadequate services, infrastructure degeneration, and lack of access to land and shelter.

Instant indicator

Mrs Tibaijuka told BBC News Online: "Habitat doesn't get $15m given to it every day, so I'm quite excited."

The grant, which totals $15,162,500, will provide each city with about $15,000-worth of geographic information systems (GIS) software, technical support, upgrades and training.

In 2003 about 350 cities are likely to benefit, with the others included later. Esri says it has more than 1m GIS users in over 100 countries.

"GIS is based on the supposition that there's power in geography, and that you can see things better on a map," said Jeanne Rebstock Foust of Esri, "and the software works over the net, enabling cities to link up.

"It was used in the floods in Mozambique, for example, and it's been used in an HIV/Aids project in Nairobi. But it hasn't been made systematic."

She told BBC News Online: "Modern society has got away from thinking about the power of place - we've lost our spatial sense.

"The real strength of GIS is its ability to integrate information from a range of sources - satellite imagery, say, or aerial photographs, or census data - and then analyse it. Then you can see the results in an entirely new way," said Ms Foust.

"I'm convinced this is going to make a difference in tackling poverty and city life. It's going to let us take the pulse of our cities across the world."