Via Technologies said Friday that Hewlett-Packard has decided to use its low-cost, low-power chips in new energy-efficient business PCs in the booming China market. HP's decision to use Via processors in a new Compaq desktop computer marks a substantial win for Via's processor business, which trails much-larger rivals Intel and AMD by a wide margin.

Taiwan-based Via occupies just a sliver of the worldwide processor market, while the bulk of Via's business comes from chipsets.

HP is already using Via products in lower-profile "thin client" PCs ? stripped-down computers that rely on a server to handle the bulk of the processing duties. In selecting the Via processors, HP becomes the first major computer maker to adopt the Via product for a mass-market item.

Via said each 1.5-gigahertz processor consumes just 20 watts of power, lowering the amount of electricity needed to operate each computer. The company said the new computers will help businesses in developing areas build advanced systems without incurring burdensome power costs.

"It is vital that companies across China, not just in the largest cities, gain access to the vast productivity, efficiency and online resource benefits of IT and the Internet," Wenchi Chen, Via's president and chief executive, said in a statement.