Instant messaging has outpaced SMS texting in Singapore. More and more people are logged on for hours on end, 'talking' to friends and colleagues while at work, according to The Straits Times.

These people, so-called 'efficiency freaks', send about 55 million messages each day, and 1.6 billion a month in total in 2007.

According to the data released by Microsoft, there are 1.3 million users of Windows Live Messenger or MSN in Singapore, who are online for 12 hours on average a day.

The number of instant messages sent outperforms that of SMS texts. There are six million mobile phone subscriptions there, but only one billion text messages were sent each month last year.

The growth in Instant Messaging accelerated three years ago, which coincided with the surge of broadband - which connections allow users to stay connected for as long as they want, without incurring extra charges, according to the article posted on Asia Media.

A typical Singaporean MSN user logs on once he gets to the office, usually at about 8 a.m., and keeps on cranking messages until he is off work, usually around 6 p.m.

Moreover, many users log on as soon as they finish dinner. There are even some who never log off, according to Microsoft.