Photobucket Goes Mobile

Photobucket on Tuesday launched a mobile version of its Web site that lets people upload and share billions of photos, graphics, and videos on their cell phones and smartphones.

Photobucket Mobile can be accessed on a browser and used to surf personal and public Photobucket content, to upload photos and videos, to share photos and graphics via e-mail, and to view featured photos and images -- all directly on a mobile phone.

In a survey conducted last summer by Fox Interactive Media, a News Corporation company that acquired Photobucket last year, 80% of Photobucket users said they have a camera phone, 36% said they use their mobile phone camera every day, and 52% said they have Internet access on their mobile phone.

"As photo sharing continues to move beyond the desktop, our users look to share their digital life moments instantly. Recreating the Photobucket experience on a mobile platform is a critical part of meeting this need," said Alex Welch, Photobucket's president, in a statement.

Photobucket said future enhancements to its mobile portal will include the option to view, share, and search for video, as well as the option to embed content in social networking sites on mobile phones and the ability to access other Web sites through links.

MySpace, a popular social networking site also owned by Fox Interactive Media, announced its free ad-supported mobile version in September. Sprint will become the first U.S. wireless carrier to offer charge-free access to MySpace Mobile when it launches early this year. It will be accessible by Sprint subscribers with data plans through the carrier's portal, making the experience a lot more user friendly than having to type a URL address in mobile phone browsers.

Fox Interactive Media plans to launch mobile versions of all of its sites, which include FoxSports.com, IGN Entertainment, RottenTomatoes, AskMen, and Flektor, in the coming months.