Now the marketing moguls, never known to miss a trick, have elevated the not-so-humble text messager to the rank of key player in a modern democracy. For the politician it is a double-edged sword. "It's an occupational hazard," says President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who has become the butt of text-message jokes since replacing disgraced President Joseph Estrada.

The diminutive Mr Arroyo stepped into Estrada's shoes on January 20 when "people power" protests fuelled by text-messaging ousted him after his impeachment for corruption ground to a halt. But others in the Philippines, a poor country that gave birth to the world's most virulent computer virus, the Love Bug, see a bright future for what for many has offered a simple entry into a hi-tech world.

The idea is not new. First there were pagers. That fad faded as mobile phones swept into town. Then paging found a new lease of life on the back the mobile phone. "It's a texting revolution," Mr Jones Campos, assistant vice-president for public relations at Globe Telecommunications, which has 2.5 million customers, said of the change of power in the Philippines. A political commentator coined the phrase "texting revolution" but the marketing men followed quickly in their wake.

"You can no longer stop the Filipino people from being concerned about their political life, from being involved through texting," says Mr Campos.Not just a communication tool "This time, everybody has a communication tool," he adds. The Internet played its part, particularly for Filipinos living abroad.

But at home, the computer penetration rate is a low onepercent of the 75 million population - with most computers located in the capital Manila. Internet cafes at malls and schools have expanded access by selling prepaid Internet cards or surfing time on retail but it was texting that kept people in touch with one another and spread the word throughout Estrada's final days in power.

"From the Senate vote, to the noise barrage to the generals' defection, the coup plots, it was monitored all the way," Mr Campos said, adding that Filipinos from major cities across the nation all joined in. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets.

For many of the mostly middle-class protesters, the call came in text message form on their mobile phones. The Philippines has about 4.5 million mobile phone users, with eight in 10 buying prepaid phone cards.