The chipmaker operates four 'definition centers''located in Bangalore, India; Cairo, Egypt; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Shanghai, China'that identify market requirements of each geographic area and other factors considered in designing PC platforms including weather conditions and the kind of content people can access.

'We have people who go to villages and observe the day-to-day tasks of the people and see how technology can help make their lives better and more efficient,' Findlay said.

To address harsh weather and power supply conditions in rural India, for example, Intel designed a 'community PC' platform placed in Internet kiosks and used by village folk to access government records (in electronic form) such as land records and marriage licenses. Moreover, Findlay said farmers are able to access crop prices through the Internet.