From the BBC:
More people than ever are asking to be buried or cremated with their mobile phones when they die, say researchers.
The trend, which began in South Africa, has now spread to a number of countries, including Ireland, Australia, Ghana, and the US.
Martin Raymond, director of international trend-spotting think-tank, The Future Laboratory said that this had started off "in the realm of the urban myth", but was fast becoming fact.
"You hear about it, the idea that people are being buried with their mobile phones, but you can't really believe it," he told the BBC World Service's Culture Shock programme.
He explained that the first cases of people asking to be buried with their phone originated in Cape Town, where some people's belief in witchcraft meant they feared that "they could fall under a spell, be put to sleep and actually be buried.
"In fact, they were asking for the phones to be put into the coffins with them in case they woke up."
Mr Raymond said that in Australia the trend was more about affluence.
"People wanted to be buried with the totems that they felt represented their lifestyle," he explained.
"We came across one guy who asked to be buried with his mobile phone and his Blackberry, and also with his laptop."
Link to full story: BBC NEWS | Technology | Handsets get taken to the grave.
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