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The company is working on mobile phones based on the open-source operating system from Google, which will be sold under its own brand name.

During a recent presentation the company's chief financial officer, Hui-ming Cheng, confirmed that these phones will be available to customers before Christmas.

Late last year details of an HTC Android handset called the Clio emerged in a US Federal Communications Commission testing document. The phone supported GSM, EDGE and HSDPA, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Two cameras were included, designed to make video calls more practical.

HTC requested that photographs were kept out of the public document, although a schematic hinted at the fact that the handset will be

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held horizontally and feature a QWERTY keyboard.

Android was announced in November last year, quashing rumours that Google was working on a handset its own. The operating system is based on Linux, and will "power thousands of different phone models" hopes CEO Eric Schmidt.

The HTC announcement is good news for Google, after it was revealed earlier this year that some handset manufacturers were holding back their launch plans until 2009.

Recently Google has frustrated Android developers by holding back the latest version of the SDK to 50 winners of a recent development competition.

Android is also facing fresh competition from Symbian, which will become open-source after its purchase by Nokia is completed.

Many other manufacturers are said to be developing Android handsets, including Samsung, and Dell, who hired a former Motorola executive at the start of the year.

Read our first look of Google Android here