(Reuters) - Nokia design chief Marko Ahtisaari is spending a third of his time on creating a tablet for the cellphone maker, which would stand out among hundreds of iPad-challengers, he said in an interview with Finnish magazine Kauppalehti Optio.

"We are working on it," he was quoted as saying.

Nokia's Chief Executive Stephen Elop has said the category is interesting for the Finnish company, but has stressed the need for a different approach to numerous rivals trying to battle against the dominance of Apple's iPad.

"We continue to eye the tablet space with interest, but have made no specific announcements," a company spokesman said on Thursday.

Nokia is widely expected to launch an own tablet using Microsoft's Windows 8 software later this year.

(Reporting By Tarmo Virki; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)