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China Wireless

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Wireless holiday messages spike in China By Reuters December 26, 2001, 9:35 a.m. PT China embraced the holiday spirit this year, sending up to six times the average number of short messages over computers and cell phones, industry executives said on Wednesday. A flood of holiday greetings spelled out in Chinese characters caused a spike in China's airwaves on Christmas Eve, allowing Web portals and mobile carriers to cash in as bargain-conscious consumers celebrated the holiday. Internet users sent friends and family members five to six times more short text messages on the night before Christmas than on an average day, said Chen Tong, the Web site manager of China's popular Internet portal Sina.com. Using Sina's mainland Web site to send an SMS message costs 6 cents, which is collected by one of China's two cellular carriers and then shared with Sina. "I trust that on New Year's Day it will be higher, and that Spring Festival will mark an even higher record," Chen said. Using the Internet or a cell phone to send an SMS message is usually cheaper than a direct cellular phone call, making text messaging increasingly popular in China's cost-conscious market.