Malta’s longest-established news portal, www.di-ve.com, has introduced an SMS system alerting people to important breaking news. The service is already a hit with local mobile users and thousands already enjoy the benefits of receiving newsflashes on their mobile via di-ve.com SMS alerts.

Subscribers receive the service free of charge if they sign up by sending an SMS with only the letter ‘S’ on 7992 1336.

The service is the newest in a series introduced by www.di-ve.com, a GO subsidiary, specifically to meet the ever-growing public demand for “news snacking” – the term describing people’s preference for news updates throughout the day wherever they are, as opposed to waiting for the more traditional on-the-hour or evening news round-up.

“www.di-ve.com is the only local organisation specifically dedicated to online news. It is a stimulating alternative to the online service run by conventional media – which is just a sneak preview of some of the stories that will appear in print or on television later on,” said www.di-ve.com, editor Vanessa Macdonald.

“We are constantly uploading exclusive stories that our customers will not see anywhere else. What’s more, members can keep tabs on top-notch stories as well as new posts of the Cutting Edge column by signing up to the di-ve.com Facebook group,” she added.

The Facebook group enables members to keep updated on any new messages by Facebook alerts to their e-mail. Hence they can be sure not to miss out on any stories - wherever they are, at whatever time of day.

The di-ve.com SMS alert service is accessible to subscribers of all he mobile operators. GO mobile subscribers have an added bonus, as they can get into all stories using the Information on Demand service from their mobile. SMS alerts are reserved entirely for the hottest breaking news and subscribers can look forward in all confidence to receiving a message within a split second of a news bulletin breaking out.