CHINA Unicom Ltd, the nation's second-biggest wireless operator, aims to win a third of the country's future third-generation mobile-phone users, the Financial Times reported, without saying where it got the information.

The company, which is merging with China Netcom Group Corp, is expected to compete for 3G customers against China Telecom Corp and China Mobile Ltd, the newspaper said. China Unicom said last Wednesday it would spend as much as 100 billion yuan (US$14.6 billion) to expand wireless networks and invest in 3G development as it tries to narrow the gap with rival China Mobile.

3G services allow faster downloads of music and video on mobile phones.