UK SMS firm Staellium UK is offering a service whereby text messages delete themselves soon after the message has been read. 

Initially aimed at firms wanting greater SMS security, Staellium claimed that the service is also attracting interest from agents handling celebrities who have an unhealthy desire for sending fruity messages that often get into the public domain.

Called StealthText, the service deletes texts within seconds of being read. The catch is that it requires both the sender and the receiver to sign up to the service.

The recipient does not receive the message itself, but is sent a link to the message which they have to open. They then have 40 seconds to read it before it disappears.

Staellium chief executive Carole Barnum said: "The technology behind StealthText is derived from military technology, so the comparisons with Mission Impossible are justified.

"The ability to send a self-destructing message has massive benefits for people from all walks of life, from everyday mobile users through to celebrities and business people."

Those wishing to sign up to the service must text STEALTH to 80880 to receive a link that will allow them to download the StealthText applet via a Wap connection.

But the likes of David Beckham and Rebecca Loos may have to look carefully at the small print. To comply with legal requirements, the 'paper trail' and message log stays on a protected, secure server for a period of time before being completely deleted.

Server data still has an uncanny ability to end up in the hands of tabloid editors whenever that data is too hot to handle.