Prozac by SMS

2002-11-14 15:54

Johannesburg - Proud South Africans who want to talk up their country will never run short of ammunition again, thanks to the launch of a new mobile phone service which will deliver packages of positive news every day.

Vodacom, the country's largest cellphone network, will for a small charge send out an upbeat fact daily to subscribers, the positive news service's creator Ivan Booth said on Thursday.

"If the topic turns to crime and everyone starts getting depressed, the optimist can whip out their phone and get sent a quick SMS," he told Reuters.

In its first few days, the service has highlighted that South Africa's crime prevention strategy has won praise from the UN, that rating agency Standard & Poor's upgraded its economic outlook for the country, and that Cape Town had been voted the world's best holiday city by British TV viewers.

"I hope we can uplift the whole mood of the country," he said. "In many respects we are the most fortunate nation in the world. Sadly, we are also the least grateful, and the one nation most ignorant of its achievements."

- Reuters