File photo shows a South Korean woman walking past mobile handsets displayed at an electronic shop in Seoul. Mobile telephones have topped the list of gifts sought by South Korean children, a survey said Sunday.

Mobile telephones have topped the list of gifts sought by South Korean children, a survey said Sunday.

The poll, conducted by the Korean-language Yahoo web site on 16,661 youngsters nationwide, said 37 percent picked cell phones as the best gift. Nintendo video game consoles ranked second on the list with 30 percent approval, followed by MP3 players with nine percent support.

South Korea is home to such global cell phone manufacturers as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, with over 80 percent of its 49 million people using the mobile handsets.

The survey results were issued on the eve of Children's Day, which South Korea has observed since 1923, when parents usually buy gifts for their children.

© 2008 AFP