NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile phone company, will start selling Research In Motion's BlackBerry wireless e-mail devices this fall, RIM said on Thursday.

The highly anticipated market entry comes on the heels of RIM's announcement last month that it was rolling out service in the massive market of mainland China with China Mobile Ltd. .

The devices will be marketed to DoCoMo's corporate customers.

BlackBerries to be sold in Japan will operate on both W-CDMA and GSM/GPRS networks and will be usable around the world for voice and data communications, the company said.

The deal with DoCoMo, which has about 51 million subscribers, is the latest international foray for RIM and Balsillie said many other markets remain.

RIM launched in South Korea, Asia's third-largest economy after China and Japan, in late May with its 7100 device. The service will run on the mobile network of KT Powertel, a subsidiary of KT Corp. .