Japan's Sony Corp said on Thursday that its introduction of high-speed, Net-access third-generation phones would be delayed as the consumer electronics giant concentrates on rolling out interim 2.5G technology in Europe.

"2.5G is our main target right now," Sony president and chief operating officer Kunitake Ando told Reuters in an interview, referring to the mobile phone development and manufacturing joint venture with Sweden's Ericsson <ERICb.ST> launched this month.

"3G will be a little bit delayed, but I don't know by how much," he said, indicating that Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB will concentrate on Europe first.

Japan's dominant mobile operator NTT DoCoMo Inc <9437.T> this month became the first company in the world to offer 3G services capable of delivering video and high-speed Internet access.

Europe's wireless carriers are hoping to plug the gap by offering an interim technology called general packet radio system, dubbed 2.5G, that can offer fast data downloads.

Sony Ericsson Mobile's president Katsumi Ihara said recently that 3G phones for NTT DoCoMo's W-CDMA (wideband code division multiple access) standard would probably be introduced in the first half of 2002.

Sony's Ando said that he was planning to outline a strategy to integrate Sony's audio, visual, computer and consumer electronics hardware with high-speed broadband Internet access, and that mobile products, including phones, would play a key role.

"We need a strong killer application for 3G right now, but right now many people are still content with what they have," Ando said.

Sony entered the mobile Internet market in force earlier this year when it introduced a model for DoCoMo's i-mode Net access services, which has 28.3 million users browsing the Web on business card-sized screens, but it was beset by a series of recalls.

Sony is set to release interim earnings results on Thursday, which are likely to show a weak first half and the need to restructure further to meet already-reduced full-year forecasts.

Sony shares were trading 3.43 percent weaker ahead of the results at 4,780 yen in morning trade, compared to a 1.44 percent gain in the Nikkei 225 average <.N225>.

Copyright 2001, Reuters News Service.