An apparatus and method for extending the functionality of a message according
to a predetermined message format, such as the Short Message Service (SMS) format,
communicated at least in part via a wireless communication system, the method including
the steps of: determining a number of bits to be used for conveying extension data
indicating instructions associated with displaying the message; defining the information
to be conveyed by each bit; and inserting the extension data into the message at
the end of a user data field of the message. The method thus provides an extension
to the messaging according to the predetermined format, an extension that is effective
for mobile terminals adapted to interpret the extension data but that does not
prevent mobile terminals not so adapted from displaying the message without regard
for the instructions indicated by the extension data.
