RealNetworks announced a deal with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd for deploying EmoticonSMS services later in the year. This service will be accessed by BSNL’s 39 million subscribers across the country.

To avail this service the user is required to sign up, after which it automatically converts his or her SMS text messages into emoticons using keyword recognition technology. RealNetworks claims the user can choose among 4,000 emoticons in 500 themes.

Jay Kim, vice president, APAC & Music Business at RealNetworks said “EmoticonSMS is another value-added service offered by Real that makes traditional SMS more engaging and fun. This agreement will help BSNL to become market leader for value-added services in India.”