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Mobile phone operators, who have given you everything from jazzy ringtones to examination results, now appear set to venture into more exciting territory: adult content on handsets.

At the 3GSM World Congress 2007, the world’s top mobile communications conference and exhibition, there’s a lot talk about the land of the Kamasutra readying to import — or download — the fairly open western habit of imbibing controversial content.

Brickhousemobile.com, a company that specialises in tailoring technology and content to migrate adult content to handheld devices, claims it has already tied up to offer “hot content” for Hutch and Idea.

TV Ramachandran, director-general of the Cellular Operators Association of India, who is in Barcelona, points helplessly to the growing spread of adult content worldwide on mobiles.

“In the short term there will be challenges in offering adult content, but it would be difficult if operators universally are offering such content,” he told Hindustan Times.

Blake Fayling, partner-founder in Brickhouse Mobile, lays down his company’s wares with clinical precision. “We provide five types of adult content: semi-nude, topless, nude, activities that look like adults performing an act but not the act, and the full act. It is for carriers to decide what and how they would like to offer.”

He adds: “We have comments from Vodafone UK that more than 70 per cent of downloadable content of theirs is adult. From India we’ve signed up with Hutch and Idea to offer our content.”

In Delhi, however, Idea’s chief executive Sanjeev Aga said: “I have no idea of this. It must be rubbish.” And Hutch’s chief executive Asim Ghosh said: “I know nothing of this.”

Email M Rajendran: rajendran.manoharan@hindustantimes.com