China's universal mobile phone chargers will be on sale by the end of this month, with the national standard winning backing from foreign players such as Nokia, the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) said on its website late on Tuesday.

From June, cell phones made in China must use a universal charger interface to cut waste and lower user costs.

Under the new technology rule, users can continue using a charger with a USB, or universal serial bus interface, even if they change mobile phone brands. Users can even charge their handsets via a connection with a laptop, experts explained yesterday.

By August 31, a total of 51 firms had applied for certification to make the new chargers, and 34 firms were approved by China Telecommunication Technology Labs, a subsidy of MII, according to the MII statement.

The firms involved include Ningbo Bird, Amoi, Lenovo Mobile and Nokia, according to MII's statement.

"We will adopt the national standard in our products manufactured after the deadline (in June)," said Maggie Xu, Nokia's market manager based in Shanghai.

Nokia's 8600 phone has adopted the new charger to comply with the new rule.