By Robert Andrews BBC News Online staff

Welsh learners are now set to take to text

How's this for a handier way to learn Welsh?- phrases sent in the old tongue to your new mobile via text message, three times weekly.

BBC Wales' LrnWelsh service is a club and community in short message system (SMS) form, beaming regular revision sessions to the palm of your hand.

The broadcaster is using the mobile technology in addition to a new learners' website which includes an innovative translation feature and spell-check.

Launched on Wednesday and welcomed by the Welsh Language Board, it is the latest in a new line of technologies aimed at putting the language on a par with English.

Lunchtime lessons

Latest census results show a 2% rise in the number of Welsh speakers - but there are fears bilingual families are not passing the language on to their children.

BBC Wales LearnWelsh LrnWelsh text message club English/Welsh dictionary Spelling/mutation/grammar check 'Jonesville' virtual town Read this story in Welsh

That crucial mobile-savvy youth age band could therefore be the biggest target for LrnWelsh, set to be joined by an SMS dictionary.

Mobiles enjoy 69% penetration in UK adults and 87% in those aged 15 to 24.

But, with "txt msgs" coming at 12pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the 10-week course could also be a welcome lunchtime distraction for many office workers.

Welsh Language Board Chairman Rhodri Williams said: "LrnWelsh is an important resource because of its modern and imaginative way of presenting the language to people... either looking for an introduction to Welsh or already learning the language."

Talking technology

Panasonic's new KX-TCD755 cordless phone, assembled at Newport, boasts predictive text-messaging in Welsh and 150 other languages. The system could figure on future devices.

Some new Welsh technologies Microsoft Office spell check Google search engine Netscape web browser Text-to-speech synthesis More Welsh-language software

Welsh-speaking teenagers are even using shortened words, acronyms and slang to text their friends, developing a short-hand new cultural language.

After the board exerted pressure on Microsoft in the 90s, there is now a Welsh-language spelling and grammar checker for Office XP, free of charge from the company's website.

Google, the top-rated search engine, is also available in Welsh.

Other website projects include Welsh versions of the Netscape browser, a Welsh-Catalonian translator and a text-to-speech synthesiser.