O2 and Twitter partner to launch Twitter MMS

Service to boost real time use so Tweeters can share images faster.

Mobile network O2 says the partnership will provide an easier system for its customers to share photos from their mobiles via social network Twitter.

It's a pretty canny way for the network to monetise the soaring adoption of social media. At present users can use various pieces of software - Tweetpic for example - to share pics with other Twitter users. But this extends their reach outside of their Twitter group.

Sally Cowdry, marketing & consumer director at O2, said, "We know how much our customers love using Twitter via their mobiles and this service will make it that much easier to capture those special experiences and instantly share them with their followers."

Available to use now, it allows customers to upload and share photos by sending them via MMS to shortcode 86444.

To set the service up, customers need to log into their Twitter account online and associate their mobile number. Once done, the service can instantly be used from any MMS-enabled handset.