"The act of texting automatically removes 10 IQ points," Paul Saffo, a techonology trend forecaster in Silicon Valley was quoted as saying by New York Times.

"The truth of the matter is there are hobbies that are compatible. You don't want to do mushroom-hunting and bird-watching at the same time, and it is the same with texting and other activities. We have seen people walk into parking metres or walk into traffic and seem startled by oncoming cars," he said.

The rage of sending text messages among the American has come under fire from various quarters because of the dangers that they are exposing to the users.

The latest backlash against texting comes from California Public Utilities Commission which has announced an measure temporarily banning the use of all mobile devices by anyone at the controls of a moving train.

The ban comes in the light of last week's disastrous accident when a train collided with a freight locomotive. The accident, which was contributed to human error, killed 25 people and injured more than 130.

The Investigations have revealed that the commuter-train engineer had sent and received text messages during the run.