Motorola has opened its first flagship store in Shanghai, kicking off an initiative meant to raise the company's profile in key markets around the world.

The Motorola store is designed to raise the profile of the company's brand and give consumers a chance to use its latest products. Among the services on offer, customers can personalize their phones with laser etching or seek product support from technicians. The company plans to open four stores in China, before setting them up elsewhere in Asia and other parts of the world.

Unlike Apple, which operates a network of high-profile company shops in major cities around the world, Motorola doesn't sell its products directly to consumers. Instead, the company sells its mobile phones and other products through a network of retail shops and distributors, as well as mobile operators.

China, with 420 million cell-phone subscribers, is one of Motorola's most important markets. Motorola trails top-ranked Nokia in terms of handset sales, but has worked hard to win the favor of Chinese consumers.

Earlier this year, Motorola unveiled its Ming handset, which was designed by the company's engineering team in China and has proved popular with Chinese users.

The phone, which does double-duty as a PDA, comes equipped with a 2-megapixel camera that also functions as business card reader. With the help of optical character-recognition software, the handset can read details from a business card and import them into its contact database.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.