NEW YORK, NY — Nearly half of those who use social networking websites have visited them on a mobile phone, according to a new survey by ABI Research.MySpace and Facebook command the largest market share of mobile social-networkers, with 70-percent and 67-percent of the traffic, respectively, but other sites are expected to gain ground as more (especially older) cellular users adapt to the mobile Web.

“Consumers do not want to recreate entirely new and separate social networks for mobile, but rather want to tap into their existing social network and have it go with them via the mobile phone,” ABI Research Director Michael Wolf said. “For most, this means MySpace, Facebook, or even both.”

The most common social-networking activity on mobile phones is checking for comments and messages from friends. Both of those features registered above 50-percent for mobile social network users. Posting status updates also is popular, with more than 45-percent of mobile social networkers participating in that activity.

“The social network is increasingly becoming a central hub for communication across online and mobile domains for many consumers,” Wolf said. “To a degree, it allows them to centralize messaging, communication and even digital media consumption through a centralized property on various screens. We believe this centralization of a consumer’s digital lifestyle through social networks will only increase adoption of mobile social networking in coming years.

“Phones are getting better, browsers are getting better, flat-rate data plans are getting better,” he added. “Applications are feeding desire from consumers. Social networking is one component of [a broader uptake of mobile Web use].”