ST IVES-based internet-to-mobile phone content provider FoneStarz is set to move into new markets in Egypt and China. The rapidly-expanding multi-million pound company pulled off a deal to provide Disney video and imagery to mobiles. Wallpapers, themes,

ST IVES-based internet-to-mobile phone content provider FoneStarz is set to move into new markets in Egypt and China.

The rapidly-expanding multi-million pound company pulled off a deal to provide Disney video and imagery to mobiles.

Wallpapers, themes, video clips and ringtones available for download will feature Disney's latest releases, such as box office hit Enchanted and teen phenomenon High School Musical 2, along with classic Disney characters such as Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh.

The company's chief executive, Dave Moreau, said clients were downloading 500,000 units of content a month - not just Disney - at an average price of £2, which they paid through their phone bills.

As many as 35 of the firm's 58 employees at Clare Hall on the St Ives bypass were working on content, as the company continued to expand internationally, he told The Hunts Post.

"It's still a comparatively small market, but it's growing pretty quickly. Vodafone reckons about 30 per cent of its customers regularly use internet downloads."

The company has developed a niche in the market for internet downloads of pictures, videos and information to mobiles.

Under the Disney contract, FoneStarz will host and manage hundreds of pieces of Disney content on its operator portal decks, allowing subscribers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa to personalise their handsets.

FoneStarz, which Mr Moreau founded in 2002, manages a number of operator channels, including Vodafone in the UK, Ireland and South Africa, O2 in Ireland and the Samsung Fun Club in the UK.

INFORMATION: FoneStarz is at Suite 2, Clare Hall, Parsons Green, St Ives PE27 4WY: tel: 01480 302333; fax: 01480 302344.