Network Associates Inc, which makes software to stop computer viruses and manage computer networks, said on Wednesday it would more than double its Indian engineering staff to 200 by the end of 2003.
Company officials told a news conference the bulk of the new staff would work for its Sniffer Technologies unit, which makes products to help companies check for abuse of their networks through activities like downloading of music from the Internet.
The California-based company, which acquired anti-virus firm McAfee.com this year, currently has around 70 employees at its Indian research and development centre.
The investment planned in the centre, which would offer engineering support, quality assurance and testing services, is around $10 million, they said.
"The launch of Sniffer in India and the ongoing product development at the Bangalore centre will ensure that our clients have access to business critical data," said Bakul Mehta, chief technology officer of the Sniffer unit.
Network Associates competes with other Internet security firms such as Symantec Corp and Internet Security Systems Inc.