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Opera Software has announced plans to open a testing and development facility in Chandigarh, India. The firm is planning a stronger focus on the Indian market, targeting primarily mobile phone services providers. The center will have 12 staff in the first year, including quality assurance testers for Opera's products.

The office will support the mobile browser developer's products, as well as 'Open the Web' evangelists. 'Open the Web' evangelists are Opera's Web technology experts assigned to help Web masters and developers create sites that are compliant with open standards.

Opera is targeting both mobile phones users and PC users in India. The desktop market is important to it because of both the revenue and the visibility it offers. In markets where Opera has a strong desktop presence it has been easier to get business from other markets such as mobile phones.

Opera CEO Jon S. von Tetzchner made the passage to India from Norway to open the center. He said the company decided to open its own office, rather than work through a third-party provider, because this would be the most efficient way to improve its products while attracting India's highly-skilled employee base.

"The country's tremendous growth in both Internet users and mobile subscribers sets a strong foundation for our business objectives," Tetzchner said. "At the same time, investing in the technical talent that India produces will help accelerate innovation in the desktop, mobile and device markets."

Opera is currently recruiting for staff to work at its new office in India.