Matchmaking mobiles ring in weddings in India

By Shilpa Jamkhandikar

MUMBAI (Reuters Life!) - Looking for a partner? For millions of Indians, taking the first step towards getting married could be as easy as picking up a cellphone.

Online matchmaking services in India have announced tie-ups with telecom service providers, enabling subscribers to view profiles of eligible partners on their mobile phone screens.

India's booming economy has given rise to a new category of young urban professionals, with easier access to technology, but no time to scan traditional matrimonial columns in newspapers.

"They spend a lot of time commuting or working and we would like to use that 'dead' time to enable them to access services such as this one," said Harit Nagpal of phone operator Vodafone.

In a country with nearly 300 million cellphone users, but where only 11 million people have access to the Internet, taking matchmaking directly to customers' fingertips makes sense.

And there's no denying the reach of the cellphone, a device that has managed to bridge the rural-urban divide in India with cheap handsets and low call rates.

"We want to tap into the smaller towns and cities where our customers may not have access to the Internet, but can upload profiles using a preloaded application," said Vibhas Mehta of Shaadi.com, which has announced a tie-up with Vodafone.