With a view to tap the east Europe market better, the NASDAQ-listed software major Infosys is planning to set up a centre in Czechoslovakia for both IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) operations.

"We are planning to set up a centre in Czechoslovakia, close to Prague, for both our software and BPO operations", Kris Gopalakrishnan, COO and Deputy Managing Director, Infosys Technologies, told newspersons here on the sidelines of a CII summit.

He declined to comment on the time-frame within which the centre would be set up and whether it would be through a local partner.

Bangalore-based Infosys has European presence through countries like France, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria.

Eastern Europe has become an attractive destination for BPO and software destination because of good delivery locations and many software and BPO companies are ramping up their capabilities in Prague and Budapest among others.

"BPO is the fastest growing segment within IT services and is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 6.8 per cent to reach 33 billion euro by 2007," analyst firm Gartner said.

Infosys operates in the BPO space through its arm Progeon.

THE HINDU