Bun Rany, along with the wives of several other senior government officials, recently urged Hun Sen to prohibit the use of third-generation, or 3G, phones in the impoverished country because they can be used to spread obscene images.

Such phones which few can afford in Cambodia are capable of displaying high-quality video and images over wireless broadband connections.

In a petition addressed to Hun Sun and dated May 19, Bun Rany argued that obscene images have "gravely negative consequences for social morality" and could increase the "sexual exploitation of women and children and other vices that would cast our society as a very dark one."

On Friday, Hun Sen said he agrees with his wife and that while Cambodia is still unable to cope with pornography on the Internet, "how can we go for video phones?

"Hold it. Do not yet start the mobile phone services through which the callers can see each others' images," he said in a speech during a visit to a Buddhist pagoda in the capital, Phnom Penh.

"Maybe we can wait for another 10 years or so until we have done enough to strengthen the morality of our society," he said.

Alcatel, a French telecommunications firm, announced in February that it would provide 3G mobile services to CamGSM, a Cambodian mobile phone network.

Asked Thursday about the anti-3G petition, CamGSM owner Kith Meng said, "I don't know and don't have any comment."

Alcatel officials in France were not immediately available for comment Friday.

Hun Sen said Cambodia is facing a severe decline in social morality and that curbing pornography is one way to help rescue the country.

The 3G mobile phone "is way too advanced for us. Hearing each other's voices and exchanging text messages should be enough. If we go further than this, it could be more difficult for us to control pornography", he said.

It was unclear if legislation is necessary for the ban to take effect. Hun Sen's orders are often carried out without challenge by Cambodia's government and lawmakers.

Cambodia is predominantly Buddhist and socially conservative. People normally do not talk openly about sex.

From the Agence France Presse ...

AFP, 5/26/06 - Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen banned 3G phones after his wife and the spouses of several other government leaders complained they could be used to spread pornography.

In a petition, the women claimed the video capabilities of the phones were destroying Cambodian culture and polluting the minds of the country's youth.

"We are all very concerned that bad people will use modern communication and information technology in the wrong direction," the petition said, according to the Cambodia Daily newspaper.

It also demanded that the government "seriously punish" anyone caught using the phones to send explicit pictures.

Hun Sen said he had ordered his telecommunications minister to suspend the launch of the 3G phones.

"Cambodia is not a recycling bin for out-of-date technology but we also do not want to rush into this too quickly. Some developed countries do not have (3G networks) yet, so we also should not have it," the premier said.

He said he had read a news report about a 13-year-old girl being raped by her stepfather.

"If we have this technology, this type of situation could become more serious," he said.

"Please wait another 10 years -- it would not be too late to use 3G technology. We must wait until we strengthen our social morality."

A porn craze last year saw a proliferation of obscene photos being transmitted via mobile phones.

More ...

Mobile Porn Craze in Cambodia

Phnom Penh, 8/5/05 - A teenage craze for sending doctored naked images of female celebrities to each other by mobile phones has led to a demand by a Cambodian minister for government action against pornography.

The local press in the mainly Buddhist nation has been in a frenzy in recent weeks over the sudden spread of pornographic images by phone after the mother of a pop singer spotted a photograph of her daughter sent to a phone.

While the government is powerless to monitor images people send to each other by phone, Minister of Women's Affairs Ung Kantha Phavy told a press briefing that it should shut down indecent websites.

"We ask the government to block ISPs who are used to transfer pornographic images, show sex sites and chat sites," she said, speaking after talks with legislators and non-government organisations on pornography.

She said each government ministry should also educate its own officials about the inappropriateness of sending such images.

Fuel was added to the media fire late last month when a man was arrested for allegedly forcing a woman to take off her clothes while being filmed in return for not being sexually assaulted. The four-minute movie was quickly distributed around the capital via mobile phones.

"The increase in the distribution of the pornographic pictures to youth has severely affected the value, honour and dignity of Cambodian women and family, social, cultural and Khmer traditional values," the women's affairs ministry said in a separate statement.

In a letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen, Ung Kantha Phavy described the phenomenon as "a state of emergency because if there are no measures to crack down quickly, more women will become victims".

The minister also urged the government to close shops that play pornographic videos and ban the import of inappropriate DVDs and CDs.

In February Hun Sen ordered that pornographic magazines be removed from newsstands, arguing that they posed a danger to society.

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