Intel, the world's largest computer microprocessor maker, launched a set of chips on Wednesday that promises to make wireless Internet access a standard feature on laptops within a year, changing the habits of computer users.

The Centrino will allow mobile computer users to access the Internet at home and a growing number of public places via radio waves.

"We are unwiring the computer world," Mr Mike Splinter, Intel head of sales and marketing, told a news conference in Hanover at CeBIT, the world's largest annual electronics show. "We want to move computing from the desk to the couch."

Computer giants Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Toshiba, IBM and Sony have each pledged to include the chipset, microprocessor and software in their new notebooks. Intel said Centrino notebooks would cost about the same as current laptops.

Centrino laptop users would be able to surf the Internet, or sign on to corporate networks, provided they are within 100 metres of access points.

Centrino chips offer not only wireless links but also longer battery life - five hours without cords, up from four hours for standard laptops and three hours for more high-powered machines, Intel said.

The technology could dent demand for mobile phones capable of connecting to the Internet. Such phones are available over wide regions, but connect to the Web at slower speeds.

Critical to the success of the Intel-led drive for pervasive wireless coverage is how fast telephone and other network operators set up so-called "hotspots" or public wireless transmitters, in busy locations such as hotels, airports, cafes, and even public plazas.

For its own part, Intel said it was working with partners such as telephone network operators, hotels and airports to verify that some 10,000 hotspots are fully up to speed this year in 15 countries around the globe. - (Reuters)