LO, GR8 2CU 2day, RUgoN clubN 2nite?

The cryptic message above may mean nothing to many people, but to millions of mobile phone users it is plain to read: "Hello, great to see you today, are you going clubbing tonight?"

Text messaging is taking the country by storm, turning many teenagers into addicts who admit to sending dozens a day and increasing the already huge popularity of mobile phones.

But there is a sinister side to this new fad. While millions are content to send silly messages to each other, a handful of phone users are putting the craze to a more disturbing use.

It is not only the love lives of teenagers that are being conducted with texting. School bullies are sending abuse over the phone.

Leading government advisor Professor Peter Smith said bullies were using new technology, such as text messages and e-mail, to harass other pupils.

Psychologist Prof Smith, head of the Unit for School and Family Studies at Goldsmith's College in London, and a government advisor on bullying, said: "There have been several cases of this new type of bullying, but at the moment we do not know the true extent of it.

"What we are seeing are new forms of bullying, using mobile phones, text messages and e-mail."

For the vast majority, though, text messaging remains just a harmless bit of fun.

Internet company Genie has even published a "texting" dictionary, the SMS DXNRE.

For the uninitiated, text messaging is simply as it sounds - a way of sending a written message through a phone, similar to an e-mail.

The industry in the UK went from fewer than 50,000 messages in January last year to a massive 215 million sent on the Orange network alone last month.

Sarah-Jane Simpson, of CM Cellular Accessories, which operates stalls in Darlington and Middlesbrough, said about 60 per cent of the company's business came from the 14 to 18-year-old age group.

Changeable covers, holders and aerials are hugely popular and their busiest periods come on Saturdays, or during the school holidays.

She said: "That's the busiest time - when they are not at school. Children are big business."

In Darlington, Newcastle United covers are extremely popular, but shoppers in Middlesbrough tend to go for just about any team's colours they can get their hands on.