For centuries we have marked our dearly departed with lifeless granite gravestones inscribed with names, dates, and short inscriptions about lost loved ones.
But one Dorset funeral director has given headstones a rather modern makeover - by making them interactive.
Barcodes are being placed on the gravestones to allow visitors to find out more about the person laid to rest there.
When scanned on a smartphone, the square codes - known as Quick Response or QR codes - launch a web page which contains a biography of the deceased.
The page can include a profile of the person, photographs and videos, as well as tributes from family and friends.
Steven Nimmo of Chester Pearce in Poole said it is a way of families "keeping their loved one in the forefront of their minds".
The first code has already been added to a gravestone in a cemetery.
Mr Nimmo said he had first seen the idea in the US and his interest was further sparked after seeing graves of former presidents in Red Square, Moscow, and wanting to know more about their lives.
The system allows relatives to write a biography and add video or pictures to a web page, with set-up fees starting at £95.
Mr Nimmo added: "It's a simple way of putting more into a memorial than just a few words on a headstone.
"Cemeteries are very sacred places -- the codes are very small and don't impose on the headstones too much."
The family of Tim Tuttiett, who died in November 2011, have already used the system.
They said it has "given us a chance to bring what Tim meant to us to many other people".
"Tim would have loved the idea of being at the forefront of a new concept," they added.
