Mumbai: The new-generation Indian engineers and researchers need not go the US in search of their dreams as the R&D infrastructure in the country has dramatically evolved and is offering them ample opportunities, says Vinton G Cerf, co-inventor of the internet and vice president and chief internet evangelist for Google.

Cerf, who is responsible for identifying new internet technologies and applications for the company, said Google is interested in taking advantage of very bright engineers in India.

He said Google's focus in India is on language, culture, content, technologies and delivery of new business models. "Google's presence in India is expanding. The expectation is for further growth of Google in India," he said.

"Now I think there is even a bigger opportunity because you have your own R & D infrastructure in this country, which has evolved dramatically over the last 10-15 years in which case you have an opportunity to contribute directly," he told a news conference in Bangalore.

"You don't need to go through an American company. You don't have to go to an American university. You (now) have the ability to introduce R & D results and share them with rest of the world, especially with other colleagues," he added.

"Given the amazing evolution of R & D capability and infrastructure here, India has a major opportunity to contribute", Cerf said.

Cerf, a graduate student at Stanford years ago when foreign nationals were instrumental in the conduct of research in the US, said the growing number of mobile phone users would drive internet growth in India.

The number of internet users in India ballooned to 1.1 billion from a mere 50 million users in 1997. "You will get those other 5.5 billion people only when affordability increases and the cost of communication goes down. The mobile phone has become an important factor in the internet revolution," Cerf pointed out.

Google has been growing rapidly in India with research and service centers in Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.