According to a survey commissioned by the GSM Association, multimedia messaging (MMS) has become a popular service among mobile phone users worldwide and mobile email may have even greater potential.

More than 40% of the 3,061 consumers surveyed by Circle Research in Europe, North America and Asia regard MMS as an indispensable service, while 38% see mobile email in the same light. When asked which mobile data services they prefer, the respondents ranked text messaging (SMS) first, followed by email and MMS ranked third.

"This comprehensive survey shows that there is considerable appetite for rich messaging services that broaden the range of communications options open to mobile phone users," said Bill Gajda, Chief Marketing Officer of the GSMA. "After a slow start, MMS has gained a loyal following, while mobile email is clearly emerging as a must-have service for many people."

Mobile email has become an increasingly popular service among business people, in particular, thanks to technology that pushes the messages to users' handsets mimicking the experience offered by text messaging. First launched in 2002, MMS has been gaining in popularity as handset displays have improved and mobile operators have signed interoperability agreements enabling the exchange of messages across networks.

The survey uncovered some significant regional differences. North American respondents ranked mobile email as the service they most prefer, ahead of text messaging and mobile instant messaging. In Europe and Asia, text-messaging scored highest, followed by mobile email and MMS.