Social networking sites MySpace and Facebook that have been limited to their users' desktops and laptops will soon be accessible on mobile phones. Facebook's new mobile services were made available to students at three colleges-- Harvard University, Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley. Two-thousand universities will be able to avail of the service by the end of the month.

The service is being provided by the major mobile service providers, Cingular Wireless, Verizon and Sprint. Users do not have to download any additional software. The demographic being targeted by these wireless companies also makes up the heaviest users of text messaging.

One of the major concerns raised by parents, educators and law-enforcement authorities is that of safety. Some of the sites have been accused of exposing children to risqué content and sexual predators. All the cell phone providers have allayed these fears by providing parental control services whereby these features can be turned off. Chris DeWolfe, MySpace chief executive officer, says that the web site "takes our users' safety very seriously." They require MySpace users to affirm that they are 18 years of age.

Social networking sites have been hugely popular over the internet. Making the services available on mobile phones seemed to be the next step. In February, Facebook sites had 10.5 million unique visitors, compared with 37.3 million visitors to rival MySpace.com, according to research firm comScore Media Metrix.