Half of world's population now has a mobile

The number of mobile phone users world soared to over 3.3 billion by the end of 2007 the International Telecommunications Union has said in a report.

Africa showed the strongest gains over the past two years and more than two thirds of all mobile subscribers were from developing countries by the end of 2007, the ITU said.

This is 'a positive trend that suggests that developing countries are catching up," the report said.

Mobile subscription growth stood at 39 percent annually in Africa between 2005-2007, and 28 percent in Asia over the same period.

India and China added 154 million and 143 million new subscribers respectively.

The global annual average growth rate stood at 22 percent, the ITU said.

Mobile phones are eclipsing traditional fixed lines and in Africa they account for nearly 90 percent of all telephone subscribers, the report said.

While developing countries have made great strides in mobile growth, a significant 'digital divide' remains for Internet use and particularly the availability of broadband connections, it noted.

Some countries have made progress and the ITU highlighted Chile, Senegal and Turkey as states where almost all Internet subscribers have now gone high speed.