AP to deliver celebrity and wacky news on the fly to Virgin Mobile USA customers

NEW YORK -- Two new youth-oriented mobile Web sites produced by The Associated Press are now available on Virgin Mobile USA handsets. The AP Entertainment and CUBI -- “Can You Believe It?” -- mobile Web sites are accessible by Virgin Mobile USA customers from the VirginXL on-deck homepage.

AP Entertainment provides up-to-the-minute coverage of the latest film, TV and music news as well as photos and gossip on today’s most popular personalities. CUBI delivers the latest bizarre news stories from around the globe.

“Our customers have a propensity for fun, entertainment and being clued in to what’s happening around them,” said Yomi Uaboi, product manager, data access for Virgin Mobile USA. “By adding the AP sites, we are offering the widest coverage of breaking entertainment news from the most trusted source.”

“More than ever, young people on the go demand a rich mobile experience,” said Jeffrey Litvack, general manager for mobile and emerging products for AP. “Having access to the latest wacky and celebrity news gives Virgin Mobile USA customers social cache with their friends and acquaintances.”

Entertainment and quirky news are among the popular content categories AP offers in mobile news. The two new youth-oriented mobile websites now on Virgin Mobile USA also serve as gateways into AP’s popular Mobile News Network, which provides top international, national and local news and received more than 26 million page views in September.

The Mobile News Network, www.apnews.com, is the first product released by AP’s Digital Cooperative, an initiative aimed at finding new digital outlets for news and information produced by AP members. Today, the network covers the entire 100 top designated market areas and boasts a growing number of content contributors – more than 1,000 news organizations signed up to provide local news stories.

“Consumers are becoming increasingly engaged in the mobile medium -- generating a demand for news that is reliable and travels with them,” said Mark Donovan, senior analyst, comScore M:Metrics. “Mobile browsing grew 46 percent from August 2007 to August 2008, and adults between the age of 18-34 account for 53 percent of all active browsers.”