Everywhere Ward Benton went in Italy, he saw people typing into their cellphones, fingers flying as they strolled the streets.

Instead of dialing numbers, they were talking on their cellphones without saying a word, instead sending text messages to fellow cellphone users.

"It was almost like instant conversation," the University of Georgia senior said. "It was the first thing I had to have," he said of his newly purchased cellphone that can send text messages.

The convenience of the service has helped propel text messaging --- otherwise known as Short Messaging Service, or SMS --- to everyday status in Europe and Asia. But its popularity hasn't caught on as quickly with Americans.

"The major carriers have done an abysmal job at telling us what the compelling applications are for this service," said Scott Shamp, head of UGA's New Media Institute. "Teens will put up with it, because technology is cool and crazy. But they've got to show the American public why they should do it. Either they haven't discovered why or they can't communicate that message."

There are about 27 million American text messagers, according to a study by mobile technology developer Upoc. But only about a quarter of them use the service for business purposes, the study said.

Who can blame businesses for not catching on?

Commercials show youthful partygoers, deterred by loud music, sending text messages to each other while sitting side-by-side on a couch.

Maybe one of the best-known uses of text messages here was the voting for the popular reality TV show "American Idol," when sponsor AT&T Wireless carried more than a million votes during the show's 10 weeks of competition.

But the same reasons teens use text messaging --- to send discreet messages, timely information and emergency alerts --- could be a boon to business, U.S. wireless providers say.

Which is why they're hoping adults who have grown accustomed to keyboards and computers will also soon get used to text-messaging techniques, such as poking the 2 key on their phone's numeric pad three times to make a C.

"It's a little harder, you can't deny that. But I'm not carrying that with me," said Mark Bartolomeo, Verizon Wireless' director of business sales in Georgia and Alabama, pointing at his computer. "I'm always carrying my cell. ... We've got 3,000 employees in Georgia and Alabama. If we had to get a voice message on all handsets, I can't call all 3,000. But I can send them all messages."

Verizon is the largest wireless provider in North America, with 33.3 million subscribers.

Efficient tool Dispatchers at All Weather Heating & Air use text messaging to send customers' names, addresses and pertinent information to their 26 technicians around the metro area. While some messages are hindered because they're limited to 160 characters (including spaces), the company sees it as an effective and efficient tool that leaves in a built-in audit trail, allowing appointments to be tracked.

"It takes a lot less time to send out a text message than a conversation," said Bob Larkin, president of the Jonesboro-based business. "We all have protocol like 'Hello, how you doing?' Text messages eliminate that."

Carriers like Verizon and Cingular can send out text messages to subscribers by the bundle, allowing users to arrange for services such as weather updates when they wake up or Braves scores soon after the final at-bat.

Many consumers have yet to embrace the technology simply because they don't know how to use it --- or that they even have it, said Carolyn Tuthill, senior product manager for Atlanta-based Cingular's messaging team.

"The biggest thing is just educating people," she said of the technology, which is available on virtually all new cellphones. "Most people don't know their phone is a heck of a lot more than just for talking."

They'll know once they use the service and their bill shows up. Carriers charge up to 10 cents for each message sent and received, although some charge nothing.

"Voice minutes are getting cheaper and cheaper and cheaper, and carriers are making fractions of the margins they used to make," said Greg Clayman, Upoc's vice president of business and marketing.

So wireless providers are turning to text messaging, along with downloadable games and ring tones, which can cost users a few dollars a pop, for a new revenue stream. For instance, Verizon Wireless said singer Beyonce Knowles' hit song "Crazy In Love" is its most popular ring tone.

Beware of spam But text-messaging users must beware: This technology is susceptible to spam.

Product hawkers who have had to pare their phone lists thanks to the upcoming federal no-call list, which fines telemarketers for calling people who've signed up for protection, may start opting to send text messages instead.

"It's one thing to get spam on your e-mail, but you can just delete it," said Clayman. "But it takes time and effort --- and can cost you money --- when you get spam on your phone."

In June, thousands of Verizon Wireless users received obscene text messages over a five-day period. The messages, routed through a Duluth facility to subscribers throughout the Southeast, prompted the New Jersey-based carrier to file a lawsuit against unknown defendants in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.

"It's a potential area that needs to be monitored very carefully," Bartolomeo said.

Verizon and other wireless providers stress that they're making efforts, including using anti-spam systems and filters, to weed out unwanted messages.

"Occasionally spam will get through," said Travis Larson, a spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, a Washington-based trade group representing wireless carriers. "We have a fairly good system in place, which we're always adapting."

The trade group says more than a billion text messages were sent in the United States last December. While the numbers still pale in comparison to use overseas --- British wireless systems analyst EMC estimates more than 30 billion text messages are sent globally each month --- wireless officials stress they're off to a good start in the States.

"I really believe that messaging is in its infancy here," said Cingular's Tuthill. "It took some time for PCs, for e-mail. I think text messaging is on that learning curve. The broad appeal is so strong a benefit I think it will continue to be adopted."