Lenovo makes move to capture chinese market

Low-cost laptops are being marketed as educational tool

Machines will come without monitors and plug into TVs

Chinese PC maker Lenovo is to sell low-cost laptops targeting the country's rural market.

The plan is also being touted as a move towards a utility computing model, where processing power is available to homes like electricity or water. The machines will connect to the internet via a phone line.

Lenovo is marketing the systems to parents as an educational tool for their children.

The computer will be priced around $199 (£98) and will include a keyboard and central processing unit but use the household television set as a monitor. It will come pre-loaded with agricultural software.

There have been other efforts recently to introduce low-cost computers to developing countries, including the US educational institute MIT's One Laptop Per Child project. Both Dell and Intel also have plans for low-cost systems aimed at the same market.

PC sales in China grew by 23 per cent in the last quarter, a similar rate to its online population, according to analyst Gartner.