Text messaging is destroying literacy, according to a British academic. Dr Ken Lodge of the University of East Anglia launched the attack on the abbreviated form of language, used primarily for sending mobile phone text messages, last week. "We risk losing the ability to read and write properly," he said. "The quantity of communication is increasing, but the quality is rapidly decreasing."

BT Cellnet has reported an expansion in the annual use of text messaging or SMS of 1,800 per cent last year. One of the best sellers in Britain last Christmas was WAN2TLK?: ltle bk of txt msgs.

The fastest growing market for mobile phones in Britain was recently identified as the 10 to 11 age group. In the same age group, research has shown that writing skills are 54 per cent below the required level, and reading 78 per cent below requirements.