Thirty thousand or more US dollars for a mobile phone? Sounds a bit steep, but that's the price of Nokia's super luxury Vertu model, which will soon be on sale in Chengdu City in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

So you want a diamond-studded keypad, solid gold case? No problem: Introduced by Nokia in 2002, each Vertu is tailored to the users' specific requirements, China Radio International reported Thursday.

Chengdu will join the elite ranks of Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong and London as the site of the fifth Vertu boutique.

A Vertu agent in Chengdu says five of the record priced cell phones have already been ordered by Chinese buyers: we wonder how they'll feel if they leave them in the back of a taxi!

(Xinhua News Agency August 19, 2004)