(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-25 10:58

Google-owned YouTube on Thursday began making all of its videos available on the latest-generation cellphones, hoping to widen its sway on pop culture.

Chad Hurley (L) and Steve Chen, co-founders of YouTube, which was acquired by Web search leader Google Inc. for $1.65 billion last year, attend a news conference in Paris June 19, 2007. [Agencies]

YouTube began making videos available to "smart phones" in 2006, but only a small portion of its huge trove of user-contributed material could be viewed on the devices.

YouTube for Mobile lets people view any of the popular website's videos, provided their cellphones can stream the data and are linked to a 3G network that incorporates high-speed internet access.

"Creating the best possible mobile video experience for users involves allowing the community to engage with YouTube whenever they want, wherever they are," YouTube said in a written release.

"The latest enhancements to YouTube for Mobile will give users access to the largest repository of mobile video content available, on over 100 million devices worldwide, and more tools to personalize their experience."

YouTube's mobile service, reachable at http://m.youtube.com, is being offered in 16 other countries and regions besides the United States and 10 other languages besides English.

The other languages are: Japanese, Italian, French, Spanish, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Chinese, German and Russian.