Intel is to build a $2.5bn (£1.3bn) computer chip plant in China, boosting the country's high-tech industry.

It will be Intel's first integrated wafer plant in Asia, serving the US firm's "fastest-growing" market.

"This project confirms... the strategic importance of China in our global strategy and the IT industry around the world," said Intel boss Paul Otellini.

However, the technology used in the plant is at least a generation behind Intel's most advanced computer chips.

Intel already employs more than 6,000 people in China, making memory chips at factories in Shanghai and Chengdu.

source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6494401.stm