One in five purchase items via mobile

Books, downloads and virtual gifts are the most popular items purchased via mobile phones

A fifth of respondents to a survey have bought items using their mobile phone, and more than a third expressed an interest in carrying out money transfers via their handset.

The survey was carried out by BuzzCity, which describes itself as a provider of global wireless communities and consumer services.

BuzzCity said that the survey was aimed at helping advertisers cash in by coming up with design-friendly Wap sites.

Books, downloads and virtual gifts are the most popular items purchased via mobile phones. Games, movies and music were also in high demand.

Twelve per cent of users also expressed an interest in buying movie and travel tickets via mobile.

Pointing to the future, respondents indicated that they would consider day-to-day transactions such as ordering groceries, and paying restaurant bills and parking fees via their mobiles.

However, while respondents appeared keen to pay for a range of financial services, from mobile commerce to mobile banking, they are often unaware how to do so.

"Consumers want to make payments with their mobiles but many are not yet aware that these services exist," said K F Lai, chief executive of BuzzCity.

"Signs point to a need for marketers to share more product-related information on the mobile internet."