BRUSSELS, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on Monday launched a public consultation to help explore new markets worldwide for its already competitive information and communication technology (ICT) industry.

"Our ICT industry in Europe needs to think and be global," said the EU's Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding. "While we have been working hard to create a single telecoms market in Europe, we must not lose sight of the global picture."

The consultation invites opinion from the industry, research communities and consumer organizations on three areas.

The first is about regulatory, market access and trade issues in third country, including intellectual property rights and regulatory cooperation. The second area is research and innovation ,focusing on ICT research collaboration, research infrastructure and the role of ICT in global challenges such as energy efficiency, ageing, and healthcare. The third is related to the social aspects of ICT, such as network and information security and Internet governance.

Based on the consultation result, the European Commission aims to formulate a more ambitious, targeted international EU strategy for ICT that explores new markets for EU industries, improves the competitiveness of Europe's ICT industry in the global market, and promotes EU interests worldwide.

The international strategy is expected to be published in the first half of next year.

The EU ICT industry has already been highly competitive in the global market with a share of approximately 30 percent. Electronic communication, embedded computing, micro-and nano-electronics, micro-systems, and "smart" integrated systems are Europe's main industrial and technological strengths.

Europe also has six of the world's top ten telecommunications providers and four of the top ten equipment manufacturers.

"There are further markets to take abroad for Europe's ICT industry if we strengthen its competitiveness and remove barriers to trade in third countries," Reding said.