EU investigates Intel

The European Commission has initiated an anti-trust investigation of alleged "abusive" marketing practices by Intel Corp. spurred by "non-European" rival chip companies. Specifically, the commission is looking at the licensing of the bus architecture that connects the processor to other computer components including disk drives and graphics adapters. Unnamed accusers say that PC makers who did not use Intel chips were denied access to Intel design data.

It is also reported that the European Union's executive agency is concerned about advertising rebates to PC makers who use the "Intel Inside" slogan. A commission spokeswoman, speaking of the "loyalty rebates," said "Intel is in a dominant position, so it must make sure that what it's doing is not intended to run smaller companies out of business."

For more information, read bloomberg.com, reuters.yahoo, newsBytes.com and newsfactor.yahoo.