NB. for 'Santa Claus' read 'Father Christmas'...Coca Cola may have given his the red outfit, we invented the bloody name

"Santa summons children by mobile phone

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - At a Texas shopping centre this year, children do not wait in line to talk to Santa Claus, they get summoned by mobile phone.

The youngsters get the phones when they come to North Star Mall, then are called in when jolly St. Nick has a free lap, said mall spokeswoman Diane Betts on Thursday.

Kids love it because they get their own phone for a while and the mall loves it because it frees parents from standing in long lines when they could be spending money, she said.

"Our line, especially the week before Christmas, can get to be a couple hours," Betts said.

After receiving their call, which comes from Mrs Santa Claus, the children must return the phones.

Betts said the cell phone system has a larger purpose than cutting down lines and giving kids a cheap thrill.

It is part of an ongoing effort to help shopping malls keep their prominent place in modern U.S. Christmas traditions at a time when e-commerce and catalogue companies are taking a growing bite of the Yuletide dollar.

"It makes a mall something that will never go away," Betts said."

-- Anonymous, December 21, 2001