Cell phones can change your life!

AFP says Japan is the pioneer of third-generation telephones, which allow advanced functions such as Internet browsing and online shopping:

Of Japanese aged 20 to 40, some 16 percent say they spend three to five hours a day on their mobiles. Nine percent use their phones for five to 10 hours -- and four percent spend even more than 10 hours a day.

Quoting a survey by Nepro IT Co. Ltd., the article notes that ninety percent of participants in the latest survey said that mobile phones have changed their lives in some way.

For 40 percent, online shopping was the most popular service available on mobile phones, followed by 38 percent who most enjoyed downloading music.

Japan has more than 100 million cellphone subscriptions in a population of 127 million, an industry group said last month. Two-thirds of mobile users have opted for third-generation handsets.