Vringo, the next-generation ringtone pioneer, announced that its free video ringtone application is being pre-linked on global shipments of Sony Ericsson’s Walkman phones and promoted via the manufacturer’s Fun & Downloads portal, introducing Vringo to millions of new users. New Sony Ericsson owners join a thriving community of Symbian, Java and Windows Mobile users who are already experiencing Vringo’s high-quality video ringtones and VringForward technology, which lets users send ringtones to friends just by calling.

This partnership with Sony Ericsson, which was established when Vringo took home a prize at last year’s Sony Ericsson Content Awards, is the latest step in Vringo’s continuing push toward global availability and monetization of video ringtones. Recently, Vringo announced partnership deals with mobile carriers in Turkey and France that enable users to download the Vringo application and access content, in some cases on a paid-subscription basis.

“Our partnership with Sony Ericsson is unprecedented,” said Vringo CEO Jon Medved. “In addition to being the first social video ringtone application to be downloadable directly from Sony Ericsson phones, we’re reaching millions of Walkman users—one of the most innovative, media-hungry audiences in the world.”

Vringo’s application, which is also available for a wide variety of Symbian, Java and Windows Mobile devices via www.vringo.com, lets users create or take video, images and slideshows from virtually anywhere, including Vringo’s 4,000-clips-and-counting video ringtone library or the Web, and make them into their personal call signatures.

To access Vringo, Walkman users can find the link prominently displayed in their phone’s Web browser. By clicking the link, users will download the Vringo application to their phones and can immediately begin sharing video ringtones with their phone contacts.