Mobiles phones may run future economy

London, January 31 (ANI): While cellphone credit-the transfer credit between phones with a simple text message-has partly replaced cash to in some parts of the African continent, a paper now predicts that more economic functions will soon come to be carried out through mobiles.

The paper has been submitted to a workshop on the future of social networking organised by W3C, the body in charge of global web standards.

It says that the next step is to give cellular phone users the equivalent of social networking websites like Facebook.

Gloria Ruhrmund, a South Africa-based mobile social media consultant, envisages that combining social network-style services with existing mobile credit transfer systems may further take over from traditional banking systems.

According to her, such mobile social networks may provide new routes to pay salaries, provide health advice, mobilise voters, and to connect and educate isolated communities.

Some social mobile tools, such as instant messaging service NokNok, are already established in Africa, reports New Scientist magazine. (ANI)