A new iPhone app launched this week, called LocalHero, lets friends help each other by identifying the people in a person's social network who are nearby and have the right skills or interests to assist with any task or need.

The mobile networking application unveiled at the TechCrunch event in San Francisco matches a person's location to the skills and interests of nearby friends,  allowing helpers throughout a region to reach out and be a "hero".

"While social networking applications have helped connect people in ways previously unimagined, there is currently no way to reach out to a select group of friends for help without broadcasting to the entire network," said Ana Baltodano, CEO and co-founder of LocalHero. "With LocalHero, we have created a smart way for friends with specialized talents to take action and become real heroes to their friends and people nearby."

LocalHero can be used for a range of requests, such as finding other friends who are interested in joining a group task, like a painting party, or to brainstorm on a specific problem.

The app categorizes friends by activities and interests and requests can be organized with tags.

"I had the privilege of attending a class in business school with a group of highly accomplished executives who shared their knowledge and skills to help each other out," continued Baltodano, who is located in Palo Alto, California. "However, once we left the class, even though we were connected online, there wasn't an easy way to continue that reciprocity that was so valuable to us all. That's when I started to think about creating the LocalHero application."

LocalHero, is available immediately for free download at the iPhone apps store and at the website: