Singapore launched a high-speed Internet link to the United States on Tuesday, boosting its claim to be the region's major information technology hub.

A Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel) official said the company had invested about Singapore $40 million (US$28 million) in two high-speed Internet links, the second of which would be ready by the end of May.

The two new links would increase Singapore's total Internet capacity fourfold, SingTel's executive vice-president (international services) Lim Toon told a news conference.

Singapore is the first country in Asia, apart from Japan, to have a 45 megabit per second connection to the United States' Internet computer network.

The Internet subscriber base in the Asia-Pacific is expanding at a rate of 10 to 15 percent every month, Lim said.

The partners in the project include the National Computer Board (NCB), and the three local internet service providers SingNet, Pacific Internet and Cyberway.

Source: Reuters