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GYMS MUSCLE OUT CAMERA / CELLPHONES

By Reuters
January 14, 2003, 7:30 AM PT

Warning: Use of camera-equipped mobile phones could be hazardous to your health.
That's the message going out from at least one chain of health clubs in Hong Kong, where a new generation of cell phones that can take and transmit video and still photos is raising concerns over a new crop of privacy-related issues.

Physical, which operates nine gyms in the former British colony, recently posted signs in its Hong Kong facilities forbidding the use of mobile phones in locker rooms.

"It's just some areas that are restricted for mobile phones,'' Physical spokeswoman Miran Chan said. "Some of these phones can be used as cameras. If someone uses a phone this way and takes a photo and puts it on the Internet, it's not very good for our members and their privacy.''

Analysts said the new policy at Physical is one of the first cases they have heard concerning a new generation of phones that are expected to make up a growing percentage of new handset sales in the years ahead.

"I wouldn't say the privacy issues are new ones, but it's a matter of degree because these technologies are becoming easier to use,'' said Ian Sanders, a managing director at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Fitness First, another Hong Kong chain that competes with Physical, is also considering a ban on cell phone use in some areas, said spokeswoman Anne She.

"We are currently discussing this matter,'' she said. "We're in the process of deciding what sort of rules to implement in the locker rooms...I doubt that any members would (use their phones to take pictures of other members). But for the safety of everyone, we're working on some kind of policy to protect all our members right now.''

In nearby Macau, the use of the new camera-equipped cell phones has also become an issue for the territory's 11 casinos owned by magnate Stanley Ho, said Julie Fernandes, spokeswoman for Ho's company Sociedade de Jogos de Macau.

Fernandes said that traditional cameras are now forbidden in the company's casinos but that cell phones, which are extremely popular in nearby Hong Kong, have yet to be banned outright.

"This is something new that's come up,'' she said. "We have inspectors watching. Should they find anyone using these phones, because it's just like a camera, they will delete whatever photos were taken.''

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