The temperature has risen above 30 deg C and the sun is shining from a clear blue sky, making Oslo's asphalt jungle an exhausting hot spot.

In the centre of town, in a neighbourhood called Gronland, two young men pull a trolley. It is loaded with cold lemonade, coffee and melon. This rolling cafe is an idealistic project, with all the profits going to charity.

And it began with an idea to create a social meeting place in some of the town's quieter streets.

"Oslo... has several nice urban spaces and a number of charming streets. One of our aims was to add some hustle and bustle, in order to make Oslo an even better place to live," says Mr Lars Petter Berg, 26, one of the driving forces behind the project. "The best we can hope to achieve is to make people pause for a while and take time for a small chat."

The two men roll their cart all over town, from the fashionable neighbourhood of Frogner to the working-class, multi-cultural area of Toyen.

Customers pay any price they like for a cup of coffee or tea or a glass of juice, and the profit goes to charity. Customers vote for which charitable purpose will receive support.

Said one woman who stopped for a drink, Ms Farah Khodadadi: "They caught our interest when we heard that all profits go to charitable purposes... So we are more than happy to support them."

Another customer, Madsen, agreed: "This initiative is different, in a positive way. I don't like street vendors but this is great. How wonderful that someone will bother to spend his time helping others. Most of us are disturbingly obsessed with ourselves."

AFTENPOSTEN (NORWAY)