Bible now available on mobiles

South African Christians, seeking a quick spiritual boost, will be able to download the entire bible on to their mobile telephones phones as part of a drive to modernise the scriptures.

The South African wing of the non–denominational International Bible Society, which translates and distributes the Bible, said mobile phone users with the right type of phone could download the whole bible in either English or Afrikaans using SMS.

"The Virtual Bible will enable the Bible Society to supply the Bible to every modern cell phone user in a fast and affordable format," Rev Gerrit Kritzinger, chief executive of the Bible Society in South Africa, said in a statement.

The Bible Society hopes the gimmick, which costs 40 rand ($ 5.43), will appeal to young people in mobile–mad South Africa, where the majority of the population is Christian.

Customers can choose between the traditional King James version of the bible or more up–to–date translations. Zulu and Xhosa versions will be available soon and other languages will follow.

(Reuters)