More than 200 jobs are expected to be created in south Wales as a result of a change in the way the directory enquiries telephone service is to be run.

The American phone listings company, Infonxx, has said it plans to open a call centre in Cardiff in the autumn so it can compete in the market for dial-up information which is to be deregulated by the end of the year.

118-118 is an advantage for us and will cut through the marketing noise of our competitors

Robert Pines, Infonxx chief executive

The company plans to set up a base at the Cardiff Gate Business Park on the outskirts of the Welsh capital as part of a £30 bid for a share of current 192 service.

It said it wants to recruit call centre workers, IT and administration staff, and sees the potential for more jobs later.

The communications watchdog Oftel has decided to open the 192 telephone directories service to competition from December.

It hopes the move - which will see the end of the 192 number in August 2003 - will cut the cost of such calls for which BT currently charges 40-60p.

The British enquiries service is used about 600 million times each year and is estimated to be worth £250m annually.

The call centre will be based at Cardiff Gate

Each new service will have a six-figure code which must start with the prefix '118'.

Infonxx has won the rights to what it considers the most memorable new telephone number for the service - the so-called golden number, 118 118.

The company, founded in 1991, handles 200m calls per year in its American operation.

Robert Pines, chief executive and president, said: "Thanks to Oftel's liberalisation we can at last bring the UK public an entirely different and better directory assistance service.

"Although it is true 118-118 is an advantage for us and will cut through the marketing noise of our competitors, other players should be very clear - this game will be won or lost on the phone."

BT directory inquiries service will use the number 118 500.