US mobile payments startup Boku introduces a payment service which enables handset users to purchase digital items and get charged on their mobile phone bills.

Mainly aimed at those online consumers without bank accounts or credit cards, the service enables users to pay for virtual goods on social networking sites like Facebook or hi5 and on game portals. The BOKU payment technology allows users to click on the "Pay by Mobile" button on the merchant’s checkout page, input their phone number and agree to payments by sending and receiving SMS text messages.

In related news, the company received USD 13 million in a funding round led by Benchmark Capital, Index Ventures and Khosla Ventures. Boku has also acquired two other mobile payment companies, Paymo and Mobillcash and it now reaches a market of over 1.6 billion potential consumers in more than 50 countries. Boku's management team is led by representatives of web, payment and mobile companies like Amazon, AT&T, Apple, Bank of America, Google and Paypal.