Nokia announced a deal to sell handsets worth a total of $2 billion to China Postel during 2008, in the company's largest market.

The world's No 1 mobile phone maker said the deal includes the development of technological infrastructure and marketing with China Postel, with which it has worked since 1998.

China Postel, a subsidiary of China P&T Appliances, has a market share of 30 percent in that country.

Last year, Nokia sold more than 70 million mobile devices in China, an increase of 39 percent on 2006.

Nokia, based in Espoo, Finland, has sales in 130 countries. It employs some 130,000 people worldwide.