TECHNOLOGY: Microchip giant moves forward

The giant microchip manufacturer Intel has launched its next generation computer processor, the Pentium II. The new chip has been designed to make best use of "visual computing", a step forward in business computer use which Intel expects to be widely used in the next few years.

Graphics and pictures are expected to become more important in the way people present information, with 3-D graphs replacing spreadsheets full of numbers. As systems become more visual and reliant on graphics, existing computers will work slower because they cannot cope with the graphical content.

Intel claims its new microchip anticipates these changes. It will be installed on new computers as from now, and although it will add to their cost, one company executive said the extra money was an "investment".