Social networking site MySpace anticipates half of the visits to its portal will come via mobile phones in 2 to 3 years time, Chris DeWolfe, MySpace’s CEO and co-founder, told Mobile Business Briefing ahead of his keynote appearance at the GSMA Mobile World Congress today. The dramatic growth from today’s figure of 15-20 percent is attributable to the increasing popularity of smartphones, said DeWolfe: “They make the experience better and faster. And the graphics are cleaner, the interfaces are amazing and there is more functionality.”

Earlier this week, MySpace announced plans to develop an application for Nokia’s S60 and Palm’s new webOS, adding to its existing presence on iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Sidekick. DeWolfe sees tighter integration with smartphones as key to making the most of mobile services. To this end the company will introduce a new mobile feature so users can reach MySpace friends directly via the phone’s address book in a similar way to making a call or sending a text. The feature will be gradually introduced over coming months. “We want as tight an integration into every aspect of the device as possible,” said DeWolfe. The company also announced this week that it has revamped its Wap site.