The finding, in a report this week by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, may increase pressure on polling organizations to include people who use only cell phones in their surveys. While many major polls including The Associated Press-GfK Poll already interview cell phone users, some do not, largely because doing so is more expensive.

Earlier studies – including a joint Pew-AP report two years ago – concluded that cell and landline users had similar enough views that not calling cell users had no major impact on poll findings. The new report concludes that “this assumption is increasingly questionable,” especially for young people, who use cells heavily.

Combining polls it conducted in August and September, Pew found that of people under age 30 with only cell phones, 62 percent were Democrats and 28 percent Republicans. Among landline users the same age that gap was narrower: 54 percent Democrats, 36 percent GOP.

Similarly, young cell users preferred Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama over Republican nominee John McCain by 35 percentage points. For young landline users, it was a smaller 13-point Obama edge.

Scott Keeter, Pew’s director of survey research, said he believed this was because young cell-only users are less likely to own homes and be married than young people with landlines.

“Those are two variables that are associated with being somewhat more conservative and more Republican,” he said.

The report released Tuesday said that in Pew presidential polls from June, August and September, Obama’s lead was 2 or 3 percentage points smaller when cell users were omitted. Though such small discrepancies are usually within a poll’s margin of error and not statistically significant, this suggests some bias could exist by omitting cell users, which could be crucial in studying a race as close as this year’s presidential race.

It has long been known cell users are likelier to be younger, lower income and minorities. Pollsters routinely weight, or adjust, their data so it accurately reflects the age, race and other demographic features of the entire population.

According to federal figures, 16 percent of households had only cell phones during the second half of 2007, and another 13 percent had cell phones and landlines but seldom used the landlines to take calls. Cell-only households have been growing by 1 or 2 percentage points every half year.

The a cappella ring tone features a professional singer chanting the word condom more than 50 times, a playful approach that public health activists hope will spark discussion and make condoms more socially acceptable.

“We’ve made a conscious effort to move the concept of the condom away from negative association, like HIV and sex work,” said Yvonne MacPherson, country director of BBC World Service Trust India. “Condoms are actually health products and if you have a condom and you use it, you are seen to be smart and responsible.”

Nearly 2.5 million people in India are infected with HIV and the disease is still largely taboo.

The BBC group, which is funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, hopes the condom ring tone can make people in India more comfortable with safe sex issues.

More than 270 million people use mobile phones in India and ring tones, especially those featuring hit Bollywood songs, are extremely popular.

“A ring tone is a very public thing,” she said. “It’s a way to show you are a condom user and you don’t have any issues with it.”

The ring tone was launched Aug. 8 and has been downloaded 60,000 times, MacPherson said.

Turning to television, along with their usual review of Doctor Who, Marc and Lee give a preview of the next movie in here!’s “Everyday Gay Heroes” series, Solar Flare.

And in the return of Lists, find out who are the nine greatest lesbian and bi female characters in the sci fi/geek world.

Also, Marc, still giddy that no one correctly answered the latest Mystery Geek Challenge, shares the geek highlights of NewFest and questions Beth Grant’s true commitment to Sparkle Motion. Also in this episode, the boys of Angry Puppy review The Beast with a Billion Backs, Journey to the Center of the Earth and Polar Opposites.

Effervescence aside, the fellas have tons of stuff to talk about ranging from the Drawn Together DVDs to Sulu’s wedding to the Andromeda Strain remake, and much more. Plus, the XXtremest Mystery Geek Challenge ever!