If the Indian Twitter users were using their mobile phone to update Twitter on a UK number, may be the new service by Snockles will bring a great relief to them.

The beta version of mobile social messaging service – Snockles went live on 6th December 2007 in India & UK simultaneously. Snockles is totally free. It does not charge users either for using the service or for sending/receiving SMS messages. Though charges will apply but from respective users’ mobile network service providers, when they send updates/messages (SMS) to the local number.

Snockles is currently being funded by Web Spiders, a Kolkata based global outsourcing provider of Rich Internet Application (RIA) development services and Systems Integration services. They also have a separate service of Snockles for business and corporate sector known as Enterprise Snockles.

Globally, the micro blogging service is crowded with Twitter, Jaiku, and Pownce. But in the Indian landscape, Snocklers might score over the other global players, due to the cost advantage factor. But again it remains to be seen whether the Indian Twitter users who must have already developed fairly large networks of friends, will change to Snockles.

One of the many analogies between Snockles and Twitter, is the updates he/she gets through the Web & SMS, once a person is tracked is termed as ‘Track’ in Snockles which was called in Twitter as ‘Follow’. The usages of Snockles will be no different from Twitter, but in what ways the Indian Snocklers will use the service can only be answered by time.

With over 261 million wireless users (larger than US by 5 million), the stats speak of India as being the next big market in the mobile messaging space and definitely Snockles has taken a lead. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Indian Social Networking Sites too join the MSN services. I also expect that this medium will develop as the next potential channel for marketing products & services in the coming years and online marketing companies like OuterJoin might want to take full advantage of this.

But for now, Snockles is a refreshing and promising new entrant in the Mobile Social Messaging and Networking space in India. Interested people can log on at snockles.com and register for their free service.