Election Voting X-Factor Style

A BBC News survey suggests more viewers would text vote for Prime Minister than for Big Brother. More than a third (34%) of UK adults with a mobile phone said they would be interested in voting by text in a General Election, and that figure rose to 45% among 25 to 34 year-olds.

Only 30% said they currently text voted on television shows like Channel 4's Big Brother or ITV 1's X Factor.

BBC News mobile product manager Geoff Lynn said: "With more than 80% of the UK adult population now owning a mobile phone it may not be long before the Government is chosen at the touch of a button."

The survey data, gathered from 2,000 face-to-face interviews amongst UK adults, suggested that mobile owners split into three groups – light, medium and heavy users.

Heavy users, mostly in the 18 to 34 age group, use six or more functions on their mobile device, with text messaging, taking photos/video, playing games, ringtones and browsing WAP sites amongst the most popular.

Medium users stick to two or three functions, primarily calling, text messaging and taking photos, while light users mainly only use their phones for voice calls and texts.

Light users make up the largest group (62%), with more than half of those in the over-45 age groups.

Voting by text message is being evaluated as part of the Government's e-democracy proposals to reform voting in public ballots.

BBC News is available on mobile phones, palmtop computers and other wireless handheld devices.