Virgin porn in the palm of your hand

NEWS Virgin Mobile is in talks with Playboy which could lead to its subscribers gaining access to porn via their handsets. Once its 3G services have been rolled out, Virgin Mobile users may be able to download colour pictures from the net, play games such as strip poker and watch video clips. Virgin Mobile has not revealed precise details of the plans, but a spokeswoman did confirm "tentative" discussions have taken place with Playboy, along with several other potential suppliers of adult content. Virgin Mobile created a group devoted to the development of adult-orientated services - VirginXtras - in January. At the time, Nick White, head of VirginXtras, told silicon.com: "We're aiming more at the cheeky fun stuff as opposed to the erotic side of the market. We haven't excluded it but that is not where our focus is at the moment." Hutchison 3G blazed the porn trail in October last year by being the first operator to announce plans to provide adult content on its network, which should be up and running in September 2002.