The British Broadcasting Corporation has spruced up its mobile website, promising coverage of key sporting events such as Wimbledon and the Beijing Olympics and targeting football fans with posters inviting them to text the word ‘football’ to 81010 for a link to the site.

Research firm Nielsen Mobile said that the BBC’s mobile browser service is the most popular mobile site in the UK, attracting 2.7 million unique users per month and seeing year-on-year growth of one million users.

“The refresh of our mobile browser service comes at a critical moment in the development of mobile in the UK,” said Matthew Postgate, BBC controller of mobile. “It is the first step to transforming bbc.co.uk on mobile into a much richer and more engaging experience.

“In the coming months, our mobile proposition will develop significantly to include coverage of the summer’s biggest sport events including Euro 2008, the Beijing Olympics and Wimbledon.”