Google brings new 'e-mail via text message' service to Africa

While a huge percentage of Africa's more than 1 billion residents have cell phones, far fewer have access to e-mail. Google is trying to change that.

According to the Associated Press, the Web giant is embarking on an ambitious endeavor that will let people receive e-mails via text messages. In effect, Google will be giving people access to the Internet with feature handsets. Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya are the first countries to get the service.

Nigerians began seeing ads posted on billboards around the country for Google's text message email service in July, according to the Associated Press. The way the service works is that it lets users get their Gmail e-mails for free as text messages -- and the cost of a reply is only what it costs to send a text message.