China is to set up 100 training bases for software technicians over the next three years in a bid to embrace the opportunities of the country's entry into the WorldTrade Organization (WTO), an official of the Ministry of Information Industry said in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province.

The official made the announcement at a working conference on the 2002 national software qualification test. Over one million people have participated in the qualification test in the past 15 years, with nearly 200,000 people getting certificates.

Xu Yubin, deputy director of computer-education center of the Information Industry Ministry, said that in the coming decade, China would urgently need software technicians.

The 100 training bases will be divided into three levels and the Ministry of Information Industry would be in charge of the training programs.

(People's Daily May 27, 2002)