SAN DIEGO, April 4, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- In a poll that queried mobile phone users from 50 countries, 74.4% of those surveyed "strongly agree" or "somewhat agree" that Iraq will be a better country when Saddam Hussein is removed from a leadership position. Wednesday's SMS.ac poll, which the company believes is the largest of its kind in history, garnered 107,844 responses that were delivered via mobile phones across approximately 125 mobile networks, in less than three hours.
"We asked a portion of our consumer base for their reaction to the current conflict in Iraq," said Michael Pousti, chairman and chief executive officer of SMS.ac. "We sent text messages to their mobile phones in the 50 target countries and respondents were able to reply to us directly from their mobile devices.
"SMS.ac's poll relating to the conflict in Iraq is especially significant because this poll was delivered wirelessly and participants were able to reply instantly from their handsets in countries around the world without any interoperability issues, regardless of mobile carrier, type of mobile handset, wireless standard or protocol," continued Pousti. "This is the promise delivered by wireless communications, the instant anytime-anyplace connectivity to the people, entertainment and information that are important to us. Consumers are being freed from the tethers that previously bound us to our PCs and fixed-line phones."
The poll question: Do you think Iraq will be a better country when Saddam Hussein is removed from leadership?
For complete poll results, visit www.sms.ac/warpoll.
Showing overwhelming support for a change in Iraqi leadership, 90.4% of mobile phone users in America who responded to the survey indicated that the ousting of Saddam Hussein would have a positive impact on Iraq. Conversely, 3.9% somewhat disagreed with that position and 5.8% strongly disagreed.
U.K. respondents showed even greater confidence in a post-Hussein Iraq, with 96.5% strongly or somewhat agreeing that his absence would make the country a better place. And while 16.2% of SMS.ac members in Pakistan strongly disagree that Saddam Hussein's removal would make Iraq a better country, another 70.2% of those polled from Pakistan agree that Hussein's departure will benefit the country.
"This survey showcases our MMSbox(tm) technology," added Pousti. "Using this technology, wireless data can be exchanged across any platform and delivered to any wirelessly-enabled device. We're not aware of any survey, using any medium, including the Internet that garnered such a large survey response from so many people, in so short a time."
Of those polled from Indonesia, a country that is mostly Islamic, 27.9% strongly disagreed that the removal of Hussein would benefit Iraq and another 15.7% somewhat disagreed with that same assertion. However, 56.4% of Indonesians felt the removal of the dictator would be beneficial.
SMS.ac is the largest mobile community in the world. Each day, SMS.ac polls its growing global base of approximately 10 million registered users from its web site, on a variety of issues. Today's Internet-based poll can be viewed at www.sms.ac.
Are you an industry analyst or member of the press that wants to use the SMS.ac poll tool for research purposes? This resource is FREE to authorized individuals or groups. Survey a global audience on virtually any topic and within 24 hours, SMS.ac can sort results for you based on location, age and gender. For more information, use the subject heading "Poll Tool" and send an email to prcomm@sms.ac. Please include your company affiliation and contact information.
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About SMS.ac
SMS.ac is host to the largest wireless community in the world. With nearly 10 million members registered in more than 200 countries, SMS.ac is a truly global mobile community that has connectivity to more than 400 networks worldwide. Through its core MMSbox(tm) technologies, SMS.ac, Inc. enables the exchange of text and multimedia communications across any enabled network, to any wirelessly enabled device.
SMS.ac drives revenues through technology licensing, subscriptions, sponsorships and shared revenue opportunities. SMS.ac's consumer site (www.sms.ac) is an example of the brandable web interfaces to MMSbox(tm) technologies available for licensing. SMS.ac and MMSbox are trademarks of SMS.ac, Incorporated. Other trademarks or service marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. To view the SMS.ac corporate web site, visit www.sms.ac/corporate.