Shakespeare wrote sonnets to his love, Shelley sent lyric poetry. Now a couple of lines over the mobile will do the job just as well.

The advent of text messaging is breaking down inhibitions in the dating game, a survey showed yesterday. Pollster Mori found nearly a quarter of British people (23%) have embraced the service, with 37% of users claiming to have sent a message telling someone they love them, while 1% have used it to propose marriage. People in the 15-24 age group are most likely to use text messages for flirting, with 81% using it to make social arrangements.

Mori questioned 497 people over the age of 15. A fifth (19%) of 15- to 24-year-old users had sent a text message to suggest a date, 44% to apologise after an argument and 13% to dump their partners.

Women are using text messages to gossip and keep tabs on family and friends, with 60% saying they used it to chat, compared with only 34% of male users.

Meanwhile, 34% of male users said they use it for work and 15% for catching up on sport results.

The trend to text messaging is likely to continue, with 59% of respondents saying they use them because they are cheaper than a phone call, while 55% consider them more convenient.

Users have even developed their own system of symbols and acronyms to save space, such as 8-) for "wide-eyed happiness".

The survey was commissioned by internet portal Lycos UK, which has begun a free messaging service. Alex Kovach, managing director, said: "The research illustrates we are on the right track with the new services we are providing."