South Korean team wins text messaging world cup

The South Korean pair displayed their prize-winning thumbs

Two South Korean teenagers with speedy thumbs have been crowned the fastest texters in the world after winning an international messaging competition.

Bae Yeong-ho, 17 and Ha Mok-win, 18, share a prize of $100,000 (£61,000). Teams from the US and Argentina came in second and third place.

The New York competition was sponsored by South Korean firm LG Mobile.

The 12 teams had to copy words in their native language displayed on a monitor without mistakes or abbreviations.

Some words were intentionally misspelt to keep the competitors on their toes.

Bae Yeong-ho said he will use his $50,000 share of the prize to study to become an opera singer, Associated Press news agency reported.

Ha Mok-win said her money will pay for studies to become an engineer.