Washington: The American county Fairfax has opened an office in Bangalore to attract more Indian IT firms to open offices there.

The county situated in Virginia, Greater Washington area, has similar offices in Tel Aviv, London, Tokyo and Frankfurt.

Nine Indian companies are already operating in Fairfax, says the county's Economic Development Authority. The companies include Guru Infotech, HCL Technologies America, Indotronix, Indus and Megasoft.

"More and more Indian firms are expressing interest in opening a US office, and we want to be in place to assist in their location decisions," said Gerald L Gordon, President of the authority.

Fairfax competes with other American cities, counties and States to lure branches of foreign companies to the US Fairfax promotes its proximity to Washington and Dulles International Airport and its booming high-tech industries.

Of the 4,400 Information Technology companies in the United States, 245 are foreign-owned, the county says.