A service called StealthText has been introduced in the UK which has brought to life the self-destructing messages of 'Mission Impossible.'

via BBC News:

The commercial service allows sensitive messages to be destroyed 40 seconds after being read. Developed by a British firm, Staellium, it is designed to allay worries about incriminating messages.

The most high-profile case of embarrassing text messages in recent years was the revelations of messages sent from England football captain David Beckham to his personal assistant Rebecca Loos.

Privacy comes at a price. Each text using the system costs 50 pence, though users have to sign up for a minimum of 10 messages.

People interested in using the service to send messages have to register and download a small program onto their mobile phone.

Once a message has been sent, the recipient receives a text notification showing the sender's name and a link to the message.

After they have opened it, the message disappears after 40 seconds.

Despite the fact the message will be removed from phones, users cannot entirely avoid a data trail.

For legal reasons, a log of the message will remain on a secure server to which they have no access.