The message service of mobile phones in China has taken on a new function: distributing newspaper content.

On July 18, the Beijing-based newspaper China Women's News started to provide a mobile phone version to multimedia message service (MMS) users. Subscribers to the new service receive headlines and leads of major news stories of the latest issues of the newspaper daily, as well as six to eight news photos.

More newspapers will become available via mobile phone, according to the Beijing Ehaui Network Technology Co Ltd, the technology partner of the mobile service of China Women's News.