A new survey has revealed that over a third of mobile phone owners now send and receive picture messages, up from 21 per cent at the same point last year.

Over the past 12 months MMS usage levels have increased most among the 18-34 age group, and doubled in all age groups above 34 years old.

Around 33 per cent of men and 40 per cent of women now use the medium to send and share pictures.

Men are bigger users of the mobile internet, however, at 38 per cent compared to 26 per cent of women.

In the younger age groups mobile internet is now mainstream with 61 per cent of 18-24 year olds and 50 per cent of 25-34 year olds having recently browsed the internet using their mobile phone.

According to the Mobile Data Association mobile page impressions are approaching two billion a month, while the Mobile Media Monitor found that ring-tone sites are the most popular with 48 per cent of mobile surfers visiting one or more in the past three months.

Some 41 per cent of those surveyed visited news websites, 36 per cent games sites, 33 per cent sports sites, 31 per cent entertainment sites, 28 per cent weather sites and six per cent adult sites.

The research was carried out by Harris Interactive for mobile media company Enpocket and surveyed over 1,000 UK mobile phone users.