Mobile phone number with 10 eights auctioned for $24 million in China

How much would you pay for a "lucky" phone number?

In China, the number '18888888888' went for 120 million yuan (S$24 million), www.news.cn reported.

And no, that price does not include a phone, call time, or data charges. The number eight sounds like "prosper" in Mandarin and is considered a lucky number.

The Beijing mobile phone number is registered under a Chinese company based in Shantou, but it is not known who uses it, according to reports.

Phone users often pay for phone numbers with repeated numbers, numbers that have a special meaning to them (for instance, their birth date), or numbers with many eights or sixes, which are considered lucky.

Auspicious phone numbers can go for thousands or even tens of thousands in China, but this sets a record for the most expensive number ever auctioned, www.news.cn said.

The money will reportedly be donated to charity.