Infosys Technologies Ltd's office and development centre in China have started functioning, according to Infosys CEO and Managing Director Nandan M Nilekani.

No details were available, but an Infosys official in Bangalore said: "We are still to complete all the procedures on the China development center and so will not be able to give any details on it."

The company also proposes to establish software development centres in the South-East Asian region, Africa, Latin America and Europe.

In June 2003, Infosys had said it would set up shop in China shortly. Infosys had planned a 200-man development centre, and had taken up a 20,000 square feet office in the Shanghai-Pudong Software Park, China's largest.

Infosys chief N R Narayana Murthy had talked of entering the Chinese market two years ago, but the company's plans ran into rough weather.

Infosys had said in March that plans to open a development centre in Shanghai were wrapped in red tape despite a personal invitation by former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji in 2002. It said efforts to set up a branch office that would allow it to conduct its full range of business had proved futile so far.

"We are working with them to create a basic framework, but its execution requires a lot more time than anticipated," a company spokesman had said then.