Japanese cell phones may has various functions beyond those of a telephone. They can send and receive e-mails, surf the Internet, take high-resolution photos. A special integrated circuit inside the phone makes it possible to buy things at the shop. The diversification of functions started in the late nineties. First up was Japanese word-processing software for simple e-mail composition. As the race heated up, manufacturers moved on through Internet access to music, game and other downloads. Many young Japanese would now be lost without their cell phone.