In a coup for Taiwan, the Institute for Information Industries (III) and Cisco will set up a centre to test and develop networking technologies.
The founding of the Networked Multimedia Lab - Cisco's first laboratory outside the US - will give Taiwan's aggressive IT companies inside running in developing networking products and technologies.
Four leading Taiwan IT companies have committed to working with the lab - PC giant Acer, appliance maker Tatung, OEM supplier Sun Moon Star and networking specialist D-Link.
The centre, announced in Taipei last week, will be set up by the end of the year with Taiwan Government funds and Cisco's expertise.
From Cisco's point of view, the Taiwan Government is funding a testing centre close to suppliers of key networking products.
Cisco executives point out that the firm is strong in the core of the network, but does not do client devices or modem cards - areas where Taiwan is particularly strong. The centre will help lock in new networking and related products to Cisco standards.