Junie Agcaoili, Chikka's chief corporate communications officer, attributed the growth to the viral nature of the company's instant messaging or IM application, which allows users to send SMS via the Internet and vice-versa.

'Chikka Messenger's patent-protected features resulted in the greatest ease-of-use such as to grow the community to over 30 million registered users to date. The messenger's universal utility and viral nature is also a major factor in the way membership spread like wildfire,' Agcaoili said in an interview.

Chikka developed its IM tool in such a way that it would not be drastically different from the way people use SMS or text messaging on their mobile phones.

While steady growth translates to increased user traffic, Agcaoli assures Chikka is equipped with the necessary technology to sustain the growth. Chikka earlier this year announced its interoperability with search engine Google Inc.'s own IM tool, GoogleTalk.

He explained: 'Chikka's infrastructure was built to sustain the millions of hits that pass through its system everyday.'