Thirty jobs are to be created at a Dublin web learning centre which will teach English to students in Japan.

The investment is the first overseas expansion by the ECC Foreign Language Institute, a leading east Asian e-learning business.

The positions, for English-speaking graduates, are expected to be created over the next five years. The centre, at Harcourt St, went "live" earlier this month and is currently recruiting new tutors.

ECC provides language tuition in Japan, with an emphasis on broadband and home delivery of services. Most of its clients take its classes as a supplement to classroom learning.

The firm is regarded as a major player in Japan's €2.2 billion foreign language teaching industry. The Irish investment is supported by IDA Ireland.

The announcement underscores the Republic's continued attractiveness to investors and is a vote of approval in the State's telecoms infrastructure, said the Tánaiste, Ms Harney.

A spokesman for the company said the Republic offered the best combination of technological advancement, available property and cost-effectiveness, in addition to a ready supply of fluent English speakers.