A TEESSIDE company is hoping to take its satellite navigation data services to a wider market across North America, Asia and Eastern Europe.

MI International, based at the Eaglescliffe Logistics Centre, supplies data to the makers of in-car and hand-held satellite navigation systems in Britain and western Europe.

The company, which employs 15 staff, collates information from sources across Europe and creates a database of more than 25 million points of interest (POI) and business records.

The POI database can be used on satellite navigation devices or on mobile phones to point the way to shops, hotels, restaurants, banks, petrol stations, bars, theatres, cinemas and nightclubs anywhere in the country it serves.

Niki Torrance, of MI International, said: "We are finding there is a big demand for this kind of information.

"A couple of years ago, it would only be top-model cars that had satellite navigation systems installed, for example.

"Now it is coming further down the chain and more car ranges are having them fitted as an extra, or even as standard."

She said the company, which has a projected annual turnover of £1.8m, has plans to expand.

"Our main business is in western Europe and we are in talks with some big names in France and Italy. We also have plans to expand into the eastern European, North American and Asian markets," she said.

MI International, established in 1996, last year sold the AskAlix online directory operation to newly-formed Enable Media, which set up nearby on the Eaglescliffe estate.