What will mobile addicts do with their new picture phones? Capture those "compromising moments where a camera would usually be forgotten", suggests T-Mobile, the first to launch picture messaging in the UK.

Presumably, instead of hazy memories the morning after, you'll be able to browse through the full photographic evidence - or your friends will message it to you.

T-Mobile says it has 1,000 subscribers for its picture or multimedia messaging service (MMS), which, for £20 a month, lets users send hundreds of messages including photos, words and sounds. Next month, the network operator is also planning its first MMS campaign with Flytxt, a wireless marketing company.

Pamir Gelenbe, Flytxt's director of corporate business, believes MMS offers richer possibilities than short messaging services (SMS).

For example, his company alerts German farmers on behalf of the chemicals giant, Bayer, when weather may damage their crops. It hopes to be able to photo-message them a map showing the areas worst affected by, say, airborne bacteria.

Use of picture messaging is spreading. Orange launched a service last week with a per message charge of 40p. Rival networks Vodafone and O2 plan to introduce MMS before Christmas.

Virgin Mobile is also planning a service, though customers with picture phones such as the T68i can already email photo messages.

Gelenbe says: "Network operators are banking on MMS to generate significant data revenues over the next five years, and mobile marketers are waiting for pictures, colours and rich sounds to enhance their campaigns.

"It uses the same paradigm as SMS, but improves the length, content and reach of messages that can be sent. And it has that 'wow' factor." But, he warns, "there are many hurdles that need to be overcome for MMS to take off." Handset penetration is the first. With high prices (£150-£500), it is not going to be until Christmas at the earliest that a significant number - at least 5% of UK subscribers - will own MMS-enabled phones.

Then come the technical issues. Photo messages still can't be sent between mobile networks. And there can be problems within the same network if the recipient has a different make of phone.

Another issue is speed. SMS is the ideal form of short, quick communication. Lars Vestergaard, head of wireless research at analysts IDC, says one of the most popular messages is "I luv u".

But will users want to embellish other popular mes sages, such as "Running L8", "C u in 5 mins"? "How often does one add colour to emails or insert images?" asks Gelenbe. "Anything getting in the way of speed could act as a barrier."

Moreover, rival technologies, such as mobile instant messaging in the US, could compete with MMS. And messaging software written in Java could be downloaded on to the new Java phones.

Though the industry is heading towards per-message charges of up to 40p, this is expensive for some early adopters, such as teenagers.

But others might be willing to fork out to embarrass a friend, send a holiday snap or share birthday celebrations. Steven Day, of Virgin Mobile, predicts: "People will use MMS for everyday things, like messaging the poor souls in the office with a picture of the pint they will have drunk by the time colleagues join them."

Gelenbe believes that: "Marketers also stand to win from the advent of MMS or its equivalent, as pictures, sounds, colours and (eventually video footage) will add significantly to mobile marketing campaigns." However, he does not expect widespread adoption overnight.

So MMS could bring lucrative moments for operators, as well as compromising ones for consumers.