Americans love their cellphones more than the internet, their landline and even television, according to a survey published Wednesday.

The report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that cellphones were the hardest technology for Americans to give up among those who use the devices.

Some 51 per cent of cellphone users said it would be "very hard" to give the device up, compared with 45 per cent for the internet, 43 per cent for television and 40 per cent for landline telephones.

In 2002, the landline telephone was considered indispensable by 63 per cent of respondents.

The recent results represent a sharp reversal in how people viewed these technologies in 2002, the report said.

Wireless email devices such as Blackberrys also proved increasingly addictive, with 36 per cent of owners claiming loyalty to the device, versus just 6 per cent in 2002.

The study also found about three in five Americans have used a cellphone or personal digital assistant (PDA) to perform at least one non-voice task, including texting, email or sending a photograph.

The survey questioned 2,054 adults between October and December 2007.