The mobile instant messaging was soft launched by Cellular Operators Association of India on Monday, the software for which has been designed and engineered by Jataayu Software in partnership with Fast Mobile.

To access instant messaging, a customer needs to have a GPRS (web-enabled handset) and the normal GPRS charges will be applicable depending on the usage.

With India adding over six million mobile users every month, this service will gain momentum. The service is not specific to English language users but would also be available to common users in their mother tongue, department of telecom Secretary D S Mathur said.

"Instant messaging uses the Internet in similar manner as chatting and does many other things. It combines the power of Internet chat on the PC and brings it on to the small screen. Considering that India has a very low PC penetration, this will develop very fast on the mobile," COAI chairman Sanjeev Aga said.

Operators like BSNL, MTNL, Bharti Airtel, Hutch-Essar, Idea, Aircel, Reliance Telecom, Spice and BPL are expected to commercially launch this service in the next 3-4 weeks.

The percentage of mobile users with IM-capable phones will grow to 62 per cent in 2010 from a mere 4 per cent currently, COAI Technical Committee chairman Ashok Juneja said.

The service is already available in Europe, China and Turkey and would be launched this year in Hong Kong, Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia and Bangladesh, he added.