Mumbai: China, which launched its new `Compass'' navigation satellite on April 14, has completed its third position-fixing manoeuvre, sending the satellite into the exact orbit, the Xi''an Satellite Control Center said.

The satellite, part of the country''s ambitious `Compass'' navigational system, is expected to provide services to customers all over China and neighboring countries by 2008.

China is expanding the `Compass'' to become a global navigation and positioning network.

The "Compass" navigational system is designed to provide navigation and positioning services in transportation, meteorology, petroleum prospecting, forest fire monitoring, disaster forecast, telecommunications and public security, among others.

`Compass'' system can provide clients with positioning accuracy within 10 metres, velocity accuracy with 0.2 metre per second and timing accuracy within 50 nanoseconds.

The system currently has 35 satellites - five geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) and 30 medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites - earlier reports said.

On February 3, China successfully put a test "Compass" satellite into orbit, the fourth of such experimental satellites launched since 2000.

It said the onboard equipments are functioning well.

Experts said the `Compass'' navigation experimental system, rivalling the global positioning system (GPS) of the United States, is operating well.

China is among a few countries in the world that are capable of developing navigation satellite system on its own.