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a bid to meet fast-growing demand for liquid crystal display televisions, Matsushita, known for its Panasonic brand, is set to build a Y300bn ($2.8bn) LCD factory in western Japan by 2010.

The move will put it head to head against the leading LCD TV makers, such as Samsung, Sharp and Sony.

Matsushita said that IPS Alpha Technology would also look into the development of organic electro luminescence display. Sony has been the first firm to commercialise OLED technology, selling an 11-inch television with a 3mm-thick panel.

Matsushita is still betting strongly on plasma technology, with plans to boost monthly capacity at its factory in western Japan to 1.26m panels a month by May 2009, from a current 640,000 panels. A key aim is to boost overseas sales of plasma TVs, primarily in the crucial US market. The group aims to raise overseas sales to 60 per cent of total revenue by March 2010 from about 50 per cent now.