Mobile phone giant Nokia is to establish a new nanotechnology research centre at the University of Cambridge. 

The facility will be staffed initially by 10 Nokia employees who will work closely with the nanoscience centre and electrical division of the engineering department at the University of West Cambridge site.

"Nanotechnology long ago moved out of science fiction movies and into the laboratory and, more recently, we have seen the first commercial applications," said Tapani Ryhanen, head of Nokia Global Research.

"The techniques we are developing bring us a toolkit for working with the processes of nature at a very basic level - the level of molecules - in a safe and controlled way."

The total investment for the project is estimated at £40m. Nokia has similar arrangements with two other research institutions.