Two-way small talk with Asia's Chikka.com site

MANILA: Instant messaging, which has already taken Singapore and

the Philippines by storm, will soon be available to other countries in

Asia following the launch of a two-way wireless instant messenger

service by Philippine-based Chikka.com.

The service merges computer-based instant messaging and mobile

phone-based short messaging service (SMS), and is expected to present

new advertising opportunities.

Chika, which means talking or chatting in Filipino, will soon be

available in Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and

Europe.

Communication in real time has gained popularity through services such

as AOL Instant Messenger. According to the company, the Philippines

leads the region in instant messaging usage with an estimated 100

million messages being sent daily.

The Chikka.com website is presently in its demo stage although users can

sign up for the new service online.

A report by NetValue found Hong Kong led the instant messaging market in

Asia in January this year, followed closely by Singapore, Taiwan, Korea

and China.