China's mobile phone sales jumped to a record 266.8 million in the first six months this year 33.4 percent up from the same period last year, the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) announced on Tuesday.

Sales revenue hit 161 billion yuan (US$ 21.2 billion), up 29.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the price for handsets fell. From January to May, the average price was four to seven percent lower than the same period last year, and for domestic producers, the price was even 15 to 20 percent down.

Nokia saw its market share expand in the first five months from last year's 10.5 percent to 18.1 percent, and its GSM mobile phone sales rose from last year's 25.1 percent to 36.6 percent of the national total, on top of its strategy of penetrating both high-end and low-end markets.

(Xinhua News Agency July 25 2007)