Washington: The new destinations for US companies such as IBM, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle and PeopleSoft who are exploring countries with even cheaper sources of technical labour include Romania, Russia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, according to a report of the research firm IDC.

As a result, India may soon lose jobs itself. In recent years, "offshore" tech support has become a booming business in India, where 50 or so call centres operated primarily for American companies. They pulled in about $ 183.9 million in 2002, said the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) in New Delhi.

According to a report in 'Wired News', research firm Forrester estimates that over three million jobs, many from tech industries, will leave the United States by 2015. The research indicates that India will still be a major outsourcing contender, but will not be the only or perhaps even the primary option for outsourcing tech work in the next decade.

Hungary, Russia, Romania, and the Czech Republic have begun to obtain more outsourcing contacts from US firms like IBM, Boeing and Intel. Vietnam may be the most likely Asian contender for India's tech support crown, as the government is "keen" to develop a reputation as a technology centre, said Traci Gere, group vice president at IDC.

Before they are allowed to field tech support calls, Indian call centre workers receive meticulous training. Trainees typically watch dozens of American movies and TV shows for the first week to acclimatise themselves to US slang and accents.

Farhat Gupta, owner of several call centres, expressed concern at the fact that outsourcing might be outsourced from India in the near future, says the report.

He added, "It's hard to know where it will all end. Is there a country were people will work for free?"

ANI