Accenture Ltd. plans to more than double its workforce in India, China and the Philippines to about 50,000 employees over the next three years. The Hamilton, Bermuda-based IT services firm didn't say how the new hires will be distributed across the three countries.

The Bavarian Ministry of Justice in Germany has extended its IT outsourcing contract with Unisys Corp.'s German unit through the end of 2008. The value of the contract wasn't disclosed beyond a description of it as a multimillion-dollar deal. The initial pact was signed in December 2002 and called for Unisys to modernize and manage the ministry's IT infrastructure.

Global fact: 20 percent

Year-to-year growth of the telecommunications market in Argentina during 2005, on total sales of 15.6 billion Argentine pesos ($5.1 billion).

Source: TeleGeography Research, Washington