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World Business Quick Take

■ Telecoms
Intel targets phone chips
Intel chairman Craig Barrett said on Wednesday he expects the company to reach a double-digit share of the global chip market for mobile phones in the next few years. Barrett, who is attending the World Summit on the Information Society, said the chipmaker was looking toward the future and demand for mobile phones. "Our market share is still pretty small, but we hope to leverage our success in other industries and reach double-digit growth within the next few years," he told reporters. He did not say what the company's market share was, but hinted it was much less than 10 percent. Barrett said he planned to lobby national regulators at the summit to help push the growth of WiMax, a long-distance wireless Internet connection developed by the company.

■ Telecoms
Nokia buys Intellisync
Expanding its arsenal to compete with BlackBerry, Nokia Corp is paying US$430 million to acquire Intellisync Corp, a provider of wireless e-mail and data services that first made its name with software to synchronize Palm handhelds with computers. The deal, announced on Wednesday, comes two months after Nokia barged into the crowded field of BlackBerry rivals by becoming the first major handset maker to unveil its own brand of mobile e-mail service. With Intellisync's technology, Nokia said it will be able to offer the abilities to connect any device to any data source, application or network. Nokia is offering US$5.25 per share in cash for each share of Intellisync based in San Jose, California.

■ Semiconductors
Thinnest wire developed
A state-funded research team of South Korean scientists has developed the world's thinnest metallic wire for semiconductor chips, the science and technology ministry said yesterday. The wire, developed by Yonsei University's Center for Atomic Wires and Layers, measures just two nanometers in width, the ministry said. One nanometer is one billionth of a meter. The new technology breakthrough is expected to help in the development of new semiconductors capable of handling more data at faster speeds, it said. Global memory chip leader Samsung Electronics currently uses 70-nanometer technology for its commercialized chips and has plans to upgrade to 50-nanometer.

■ Internet
Chinese user profiled
A typical Chinese Internet user is a young male who prefers instant messaging to e-mail, rarely makes online purchases and favors news, music and games sites, according to a new study. According to the study, released on Thursday at the Brookings Institution in Washington, about two-thirds of survey participants use the Internet for news -- often entertainment-related -- or for online games. About half download music and movies. They also tend to prefer instant messaging to e-mail, and they are relying on the Internet more frequently than before to contact others who have the same professions, hobbies and political interests. Three-quarters of users surveyed have never bought anything over the Internet, and only 10 percent make purchases even once a month. Among those who do buy online, most pay for entertainment while others buy phone cards, or computer hardware or software.

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