I-mode web phones set for US debut

The i-mode wireless internet service will start in the US early next year.

Japanese mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo says trials run by partners AT&T Wireless will begin in Seattle.

I-mode allows users to exchange e-mail and browse specially configured web pages on their handsets.

The service rivals Europe's web phone standard, Wireless Application Protocol.

It has attracted 20 million subscribers since its launch in February 1999.

The firm's chief global strategist Kiyoyuki Tsujimura said he is confident i-mode would be similarly well received overseas.

"Cellphones in the United States and Europe are still like 13-inch black-and-white TV sets," he said. "There's a huge gap in technology. People see these colour displays and are stunned."

He said that he expects the service to be expanded nationwide within a couple of years.