Virgin goes for the, ahem, adult market

Virgin mobile is launching a text message flirting service as it gears up to tackle the adult market.

The company has formed a small adult division, called VirginXtras, with two staff members, and launched its first SMS-based adult content services today.

However, the company said it is not planning to launch pornographic services - at least not yet.

Nick White, head of VirginXtras, said: "We're aiming more at the cheeky fun stuff as opposed to the erotic side of the market. We haven't excluded it but that is not where our focus is at the moment."

Last year it emerged that mobile newcomer Hutchison 3G was planning to offer video pornography with its mobile phone service, which is due to launch in September.

There is certainly a large market for adult services on mobiles. In Virgin's research into the market, 40 per cent of women said they would consider using text messages to request sex.

The "flirt alert" text message service allows users of any network to send anonymous messages to phone users who match their profile on any mobile network, not just Virgin, though a more advanced Virgin-only service may be developed in time.