Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has informally selected 10 people, including Sony Corp. Chairman Nobuyuki Idei, as members of his new team of Cabinet advisers for the government's information technology drive, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Thursday.

The IT strategy headquarters, to consist of the 10 experts and all members of Mori's Cabinet, will be tasked with drawing up plans for promoting IT. It will be launched Jan. 6 in line with the upcoming reorganization of government ministries and agencies.

The 10 private-sector experts, who will be officially endorsed by the Cabinet today, also include Mari Matsunaga, the creative force behind NTT DoCoMo Inc.'s popular i-mode service.

Matsunaga has left DoCoMo and is now the editorial director of e-woman, an Internet site.

Also named were Naoyuki Akikusa, president of Fujitsu Ltd.; Yusai Okuyama, president of major telecom carrier KDDI; Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. President Junichiro Miyazu; and Satoru Kishi, chairman of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.

Two academics, including Heizo Takenaka, a professor at Keio University, were also named as members.

In addition to the 10, Orix Corp. Chairman Yoshihiko Miyauchi, who heads the government's deregulation commission, will also take part, government officials said.

Mori will head the group, while the chief Cabinet secretary, the public management, home affairs, posts and telecommunications minister, the economy, trade and industry minister, and the minister in charge of IT will become deputy heads of the panel.

Meanwhile, Economic Planning Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga indicated that the head of the Fair Trade Commission might also take part in the deliberations.