The call center, which provides customer and technical support to Dell computer users abroad, received its first inquiry from the United States on Monday when its initial 167 employees started work in a suburb of the Philippine capital, a Dell statement said.

Dell plans to increase its staff to 700 shortly, it added.

The company said it chose the Philippines for the center "primarily because of the strong language and communications skills of its workforce and a robust telecommunications infrastructure."

The Philippines, with a large, educated, English-speaking population, has emerged as a major location for call centers and business process outsourcing with this sector generating estimated revenues of 1.12 billion dollars last year.

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