In one illustrative example, when a
message forwarding function is enabled for a mobile
communication device which operates in a
wireless communication network, an address (e.g. an
MSISDN) of the
mobile device is assigned to “virtual mobile equipment” in the
wireless network. The equipment registers with the
wireless network with respect to the address, and stores an association in memory between the address and an alternate address of an alternate
communication device. Subsequently, the equipment receives a short message having a destination address that matches the address. In response, the equipment forwards the short message to the alternate address for delivery to the alternate device (e.g. a mobile or
server) based on the stored association. When the
message forwarding function is disabled for and / or by the
mobile device, the address of the
mobile device is deassigned from the equipment, so that the mobile device is again able to receive short messages having destination addresses that match the address.