UK hits 3.3 billion text frenzy

Popular events such as major football tournaments and Big Brother have contributed to the continued growth in the number of text messages sent in the UK - with a new record being broken in May.

According to the Mobile Data Association (MDA), 3.3 billion texts were dispatched by UK mobile users during May, inspired by the kick-off of television events including Big Brother, which encourages viewers to vote by text, and the culmination of the Uefa Cup and Champions League, which both involved English teams in the finals. The approach of the World Cup may have also set thumbs racing.

The MDA has found that text volumes jumped during Champions League and World Cup games, as fans managed to swap opinions without interrupting the matches.

With around 106 million messages sent every day last month, the UK has smashed the previous record, set in April, when 3.1 billion SMSes were sent to the nation's mobiles.

The MDA predicts that more than 36 billion messages will be sent over the course of this year.