As another symbol of development in volatile Afghanistan, the Afghan national optical fiber cable network, also called by many as "the national information highway, " broke ground on Sunday.

The 3131-km network costs 64 million U.S. dollars and would be built by a leading Chinese communications company ZTE, said a Chinese engineer Zeng Guangming from the ZTE.

The network would connect most Afghan provinces as well as Afghanistan's four neighboring countries including Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, he said.

At an opening ceremony on the outskirts of Afghan capital Kabul, First Vice-president of Afghanistan Ahmad Zia Massoud said the network would provide cheap, good communication and Internet service, benefiting both the Afghan people and government.

"The project would help boost the Afghan economy and facilitate Afghans' daily lives. The Chinese government would continue to support Chinese companies in actively joining this country's reconstruction," said Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Yang Houlan.

The network would be built with 70 transfer sites, and could provide audio, video and data transfer service.

The network, to be built in 26 months, would boast the biggest information transfer capacity in this country after completion, he added.

After the Taliban regime's collapse in late 2001, Afghanistan has witnessed great progress in communication and internet industry as over 2 million Afghans out of the whole 31 million population have become mobile phone subscribers and many have had access to Internet.