Mobile phone users accessing social networking sites while on the go

18:45 23rd December 2008

Mobile phone users are intensifying internet traffic by using their devices for checking social networking websites.

The proliferation of such sites has risen by 277 per cent in the period between June and October with people updating their status and commenting on their friends' profiles while on the move.

The Orange mobile phone provider reported that a staggering 640,000 of its customers regularly log on to social networking websites using their phone.

A spokesperson for the company commented: "The mobile phone has become a truly interactive channel that fosters the formation of communities through social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo."

Facebook was set up by Harvard undergraduate Mark Zucker in 2004 and was originally called The Facebook until the domain name Facebook was purchased for $200,000 (£135,000) in 2005.

Only Harvard graduates were able to join in the early stages of Facebook's existence but it has now expanded and currently has 132 million visitors.