Apple CEO Steve Jobs talks about the new Apple Mac OS X Lion (10.7) at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif, Oct 20, 2010. [Photo/IC]

Apple Inc has begun keeping the personal data of some Chinese users on servers in the Chinese mainland, marking the first time the tech giant is storing user data in China.

Apple said the move was part of an effort to improve the speed and reliability of its iCloud service, which lets users store pictures, e-mail and other data. Positioning data centers as close to customers as possible means faster service.

The data will be kept on servers provided by China Telecom Corp Ltd, the country's third-largest wireless carrier, Apple said in a statement on Friday.

"Apple takes user security and privacy very seriously," it said. "We have added China Telecom to our list of data center providers to increase bandwidth and improve performance for our customers in the Chinese mainland. All data stored with our providers is encrypted. China Telecom does not have access to the content."

A source with knowledge of the situation said the encryption keys for Apple's data on China Telecom servers would be stored offshore and not made available to China Telecom.

A spokesman for China Telecom declined to comment.

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