Helsinki - Citing the global financial slowdown, Finnish- based Nokia, the world's largest maker of mobile telephones, Thursday lowered its forecast for the fourth quarter and again revised its 2009 estimates for the global handset market.

Nokia said it expected fourth-quarter global handset sales to "be lower" than the earlier estimate of 330 million units. Third-quarter sales were 310 million units.

Citing "insufficient visibility in the marketplace," Nokia said it also had dropped its earlier forecast of keeping or slightly increasing its 38 per cent global market.

For full-year 2008, Nokia expected sales to be lower than the 1.24 billion handsets earlier estimated.

The new lower outlook was presented at a capital markets day in New York.

Nokia chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said in a statement that 2009 would be "challenging for our industry."

Nokia said the market slowdown has "continued more rapidly than previously expected" since the update issued on November 14.

"The industry continues to be impacted by the effects of a global consumer pull-back in spending, currency volatility, and decreased availability of credit," Nokia said.

In 2007, some 1.14 billion units were sold worldwide, Nokia said. (dpa)