Washington: In a pleasant twist to the outsourcing controversy, an American lending company has given customers the choice to call up either India or at home, with a warning that if they call in the US it will take up to two days to process their loan request, while a call centre in India run by Wipro will do it the same day.

On-line lender E-Loan Inc. gives its customers a choice: Press 1 for an outsourcing centre in India or 2 for centre in the US.

It warns the customer that if he presses the button for India, they can have their loan request processed the same day. If they want the application processed in the US, they may have to wait, maybe, two days longer.

"With the movement of US jobs overseas becoming a hot political issue, companies are trying to find new ways to avoid the backlash," said 'The Wall Street Journal'.

"E-Loan's move is the latest wrinkle: disclosing that they have workers overseas, and letting customers themselves decide whether to opt for the advantages they offer," it added.

Since the company started offering the option four weeks ago, said Chris Larsen, E-Loan's chairman and chief executive, 86 per cent of its customers for home equity loans have chosen the India route.

To offer the faster service, E-loan contracts with a unit of Wipro Ltd, which, according to the daily, is expanding its work force by 3,000 each quarter.

E-Loan officials, said the 'Journal', expect more companies will follow suit.