The luxury unit of Nokia has started selling a phone designed jointly with Ferrari for about 18,000 euros ($25,400) at its stores in London, Paris, Hong Kong and Singapore, it said on Thursday.

The Vertu unit produced the Ascent Ferrari 60 phone to celebrate Ferrari's 60th anniversary.

We worked very closely to develop this limited edition of 60 phones. Detailing on the phone is inspired by detailing on a number of Ferrari cars, said Vertu spokeswoman Elizabeth Maragh.

Luxury goods segments are benefiting from fast economic growth in countries such as China, India and Russia, while Middle East markets have strengthened as a boom in commodity prices has increased incomes.

Nokia and other cellphone manufacturers are increasingly teaming up with designers. Earlier this week Italian designer Giorgio Armani joined forces with Samsung Electronics to design a television and a mobile phone.

Designers Dolce & Gabbana have teamed up with Motorola for a gold-colored version of the RAZR mobile phone model and Prada has developed a phone with South Korea's LG Electronics.

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