The next wave of Internet growth is mobile. The number of mobile devices worldwide has exceeded three billion, and the next billion subscribers will have their first Internet experience using a mobile phone. Over the past two years, well over a dozen startups have sprung into action, bringing everything from instant messaging to voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) to our mobile phones.

Like the Rotterdam-based Nimbuzz, Mig33 is a global mobile community that offers instant messaging, photo sharing and VoIP for cheaper telephony, in addition to social networking via profiles, chatrooms and, of course, friends. Applications are free to download and communities are free to join, while members are charged only for SMS and VoIP calls, bridging communications between mobile devices and desktop computers. The software are fully functional on both 3G and any smart (Internet¬enabled) 2.5G phone running such platforms as Java, Symbian, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, S60 and the iPhone OS.

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Nimbuzz in particular boasts compatibility with Skype, Google Talk, AOL Instant Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Live Messenger, Jabber, MySpace and Facebook. MyHappyPlanet, a free online language exchange network that allows members to create profiles and chat with language partners in real time (text, voice, video), will go mobile in the near future.

A2Aworld, an upcoming mobile social networking startup, will focus on connecting social networkers between the world's two largest online communities - America and Asia - in terms of communication, information, culture and e-commerce. Furthermore, its business model is based on revenue from emerging online advertising, VoIP calls and premium membership fees, without the mobile ads and viral marketing.