The survey, commissioned by Microsoft, was completed by 2,500 people across Australia, China, India, Japan and Taiwan, was conducted to determine just how integral the mobile phone has become in society.

It was found that 48 per cent of Australians admitted to using the mobile phone while in the toilet, compared to 66 per cent of Chinese people who do so, 'Herald Sun' report said on Monday.

Of the occasions surveyed, 80 per cent of people said they would use their phone while eating a meal with others, 62 per cent said they'd use it while driving and 48 per cent would do so while trying to sleep.

The survey also analyzed how people use mobile phones in their personal lives, with those living in Melbourne more likely to go through their partner's text messages and call list than those living in Sydney.

Married women were also more likely to check their partner's phones than married men, while 30 per cent of people admitted to using their mobiles to flirt with someone other than their spouse or partner.

A quarter of Australians would use a GPS to track their partner's whereabouts, while 13 per cent said they would use their phones during "extremely intimate moments."

It was also revealed more than double the amount of men (24 per cent) to women (11 per cent) believed it was acceptable to propose to their partner using their mobile phone.

"Other than showing some of the more unconventional uses of phones, these results show how entrenched in all aspects of our lives mobile phones have become," Microsoft director of mobile communications business Grace Kerrison said in a statement.