SINGAPORE, June 17, 2008 (AFP) - Finnish telecom giant Nokia has launched two new email-capable handsets for business users and vowed to defend its position as the world's leading mobile phone maker.

Nokia said the E71 and E66 were pre-loaded with Microsoft's popular email programme and would cater to business professionals who wanted easy and instant access to their messages.

"With the E series, we want to serve people who are passionate about their work," said Chris Carr, Nokia's vice president for regional sales, at a launch in Singapore late Monday.

The two phones would be available in July and support email accounts from key Internet service providers such Yahoo! and Google's Gmail, the firm said.

It said there were an estimated 1.5 billion email users globally and that there were set to be four billion mobile users by the end of 2009.

"We have grown our share with the broadest portfolio of devices in the industry... Nokia remains the undisputed leader and it is a leadership mantle we will not relinquish," Carr said.

The business mobile sector is currently dominated by Canada's Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry smart phone combining a mobile phone and personal digital assistant (PDA).

The BlackBerry allows users to browse the Internet, use e-mail and make calls and has proven a big hit with business executives worldwide.

Apple is also taking aim at the corporate market with the launch of its touch-screen-activated 3G iPhone, which will come with faster Internet access and more features for business users than its initial iPhone.

South Korea's Samsung on Monday unveiled its latest smart phone, a touch-screen model to be commercially launched in Southeast Asia this week.

The Samsung and Nokia launches came on the eve of CommunicAsia. The event is billed as the region's leading information and communications technology conference and exhibition and began Tuesday in Singapore.