Cingular to offer MySpace on cellphones

Cingular, the largest U.S. wireless phone carrier, will offer a version of popular Internet social network MySpace on its phones in an expansion of their partnership, the companies plan to announce on Monday.

For an additional $2.99 per month, customers will be able to upload photos taken on cellphones, read and respond to MySpace e-mails, update blog entries and view and search for friends from their handsets.

Media and other entertainment services are expected to be a major areas of growth for the wireless and media industries, analysts have said.

MySpace, one of the fastest-growing Internet services with more than 130 million user profiles, is also offered on cellphone service carrier Helios. But Cingular's version will be more expansive, MySpace said.

Users will need to download a Java software application to their cellphones. Initially, about 30 cellphone models will be supported, with another 20 models supported in the coming weeks, which will then account for about 90 percent of Cingular's cellphone user base, a MySpace spokeswoman said.

Although online videos from MySpace will not be viewable on cellphones at launch, it is likely to be a service offered some time in 2007, she said.

Media conglomerate News Corp. bought MySpace for about $580 million in 2005. Cingular is a joint venture of phone companies AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp.