A new telephone exchange, aimed at improving communication between Albania and Macedonia, has gone into operation.

The Albanian and Macedonian prime ministers Fatos Nano and Branko Crvenkovski were present at the border town of Ohrid to witness the start of the new digital service, and said it was a symbol of future ties.

At least twenty per-cent of Macedonia's population is ethnic Albanian, and correspondents say there is a history of tense relations between the two countries.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service