BEIJING, Sept. 15 -- ZTE Corp., China's second-largest telecom equipment maker, said Thursday it will jointly develop mobile phones for British telecom giant BT Group Plc.'s 3G service, in its latest advance in a western market.

    The agreement, signed during Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Britain, marked another rare inroad by ZTE to lucrative developed markets where it is trying to gain traction.

    ZTE and BT Movio, the wholesale mobile entertainment service of BT, will develop handsets enabling mobile operators to deliver entertainment such as mobile TV and DAB digital radio alongside existing third-generation (3G) streamed services, ZTE said in a statement.

    "We look forward to the launch for the first 3G phone compatible with BT Movio's mobile entertainment service next year and see this as the beginning of a strong partnership," said Frank Bai, managing director of ZTE UK.

    Last month, ZTE announced a deal to supply a color ringback tone system to Singapore Telecommunications, Southeast Asia's largest phone firm. In July, the Shenzhen-based firm also signed an order to sell high-speed wireless cards to a company in Italy.

    Last year, ZTE received a groundbreaking order to sell its cellphones to the British 3G service operated by Hutchison Whampoa, one of its first such orders from a customer in a developed market.

    ZTE has been one of China's most successful exporters, but its overseas sales have been largely confined to developing markets such as India and Africa.

    (Source: Shenzhen Daily)