The problem has bedeviled fire crews and police agencies for years: how to communicate with each other in hurricanes and other catastrophes.

Now, a Tampa company believes it's developed a way to help overcome the problem, namely different radio systems that don't work together. Collabria LLC has begun marketing an Internet-based software program that claims to let emergency crews call each other, send instant messages and send maps and photos on their laptops and handheld gadgets.

There are potential pitfalls. For example, if Internet reception is spotty, Collabria's system will suffer. But, Collabria founder Marc Moore still thinks his software could save lives, and that the potential market is in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

"The opportunity is staggering, because every city, every county has medical, has first responders," Moore said.

Considered a serial entrepreneur, Moore made his name at Payroll Transfers, a Tampa company that became one of the biggest "employee leasing" firms in America in the 1990s. Employee leasing firms offer to take over client companies' human resource and insurance duties. Moore and his partners sold the bulk of Payroll Transfers to billionaire investor Robert Bass and other investors in 1996.

Moore recently had run a small telecommunications firm, and his latest venture, Collabria, got its start when an airport shared its frustrations with radio systems. Most big institutions such as airports and law enforcement agencies communicate with 800-MHz radios, which are fast, but don't allow people to send text messages or pictures, said Dean Collura, regional director of Collabria.

Moore doesn't foresee replacing 800-MHz radio - it is still the quickest way to communicate. However, he hopes his software will augment it.

Collabria's program runs over the Internet, so emergency crews will need access to a computer or an Internet-enabled handheld device. During a demonstration this week, Collura showed how it works.

Using its file sharing system, if a 7-year-old went missing, a police agency could blast out a photo of the child instantly to any agency in the area. During a fire, a fire chief could instant message the location to dozens of firefighters, sheriff's deputies and hazmat crews. During a hurricane, an emergency management agency could link up by telephone over the Internet with any of dozens of agencies.

To be sure, there are companies out there already offering bits and pieces of the same thing. Skype, an Internet-based telecom company, allows people to send instant messages and make phone calls over the Internet, too. However, Moore insists he's different because he's brought all these types of communication together in a secured, encrypted fashion.

So far, Collabria has just four employees, but it expects to hire as it ramps up its sales efforts.

It's hard to gauge Collabria's acceptance in the market so far. Moore won't reveal the money behind his company, other than that it is funded by private investors. He also is hesitant to reveal clients so far, although he says a medical crew working in Haiti has been using it in earthquake relief.

Internet reception has been spotty in Haiti, he acknowledges, but he notes that his program can work with satellites or wireless connections.

Holley Wade, a spokeswoman with Hillsborough County Emergency Management, hadn't heard of Collabria this week. In recent years, different agencies have been able to get dissimilar radios to work together, but things aren't perfect, she says.

"Is a completely Internet-based system going to be the be-all that solves everything?" Wade said. "Hard to say."