myGAMMA what the hell is that? I don't know maybe the biggest social networking mobile service in the world.. Oh I Knew That

We are so used to the US dominating social networks it comes as a surprise that a company claiming to have the biggest social network on mobile phones is not Facebook or MySpace but a little known outfit, myGamma, based in Singapore. Its target audience is the "newly connected middle classes" in developing countries and blue collar workers elsewhere. It is trying to attract the millions who can't yet afford a web connection on a PC but who can through entry-level phones such as a Nokia or Samsung. It must be one of the biggest untapped markets in the world; myGamma, owned by BuzzCity in which the Singapore government is the smallest shareholder, is in the throes of a global expansion that could take it anywhere.

It has a claimed user base of 2.4 million subscribers, rising fast. I found it easy to locate communities in South Africa - where there are 200,000 users - and China (despite not being able to communicate) though not Zimbabwe, which would have been particularly interesting at the moment. It has its own mail system and virtual currency and claims to be the biggest network designed for mobiles rather than being a bolt-on to a PC service. It also, unusually, has a global pay-per-click advertising service.

myGamma is 100% user-generated content, which is both a strength (instant global reactions) and a weakness, as too much of the content is unmediated drivel that ought to be off limits to young children. Although designed for mobiles, that doesn't in itself solve the problem of legibility when so much information is squeezed into a small area.

Part of its success is due to low-cost data tariffs in developing countries, such as two rupees a day in India. Unsurprisingly the first significant take-up in the UK (12,000 users) was by T-Mobile, an early adopter of all-you-can-eat data tariffs. Recently Arabic writing started to be typed in from countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia and people have just started joining in Iran. "It just happened," says cofounder Dr Lai Kok Fung, who claims it could cope with a sudden increase in Europe without scaling problems.

myGamma is one of a number of projects in developing countries that could spread to the rest of the world.