While Internet users in strait-laced Singapore can't be prosecuted for viewing porn, they face a three-month jail term and/or a fine for downloading and storing smut.

But the penalties have done nothing to deter Singaporeans from logging on to US-based PalmStories.com, which offers titillating tales and adult pictures for devices such as Palm Pilots and Pocket PCs.

"Singapore is the second biggest subscriber after the US," PalmStories founder Tony O'Neill, a 20-year-old US college student, told the online edition of Wired magazine. "I thought if people are moving into this handheld platform, there's got to be a way to make money from it."

More than 8000 people in various countries have signed up for a free demo since the site was set up about 18 months ago.

The bodice-ripping fare features lines such as "just the sound of that velvet voice was enough to get my pot steamed."

For US$6 a month users can download a daily selection of two adult pictures and four new stories, which O'Neill scours from the Internet.

"A lot of business travellers like it," said O'Neill, adding that typical users were male professionals aged 18 to 35.

But of the thousands who signed up for the free service, only a few hundred have opted to pay the subscription.

Low memory, tiny screens and poor resolution in handheld devices take some of the pleasure out of palm porn.