Dubbed vPro, the new platform combines Intel's forthcoming dual-core desktop microprocessor with advanced networking capabilities and management software.

The systems will feature a special logo and are expected to be available in the second half of 2006 from PC makers including Dell (DELL - commentary - Cramer's Take), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Lenovo, among others.

"We think by having a platform that has these new capabilities in the hardware and working with our partners, we can make things dramatically better for not only the IT manager but also for small-business owners," said Gregory Bryant, the general manager of Intel's digital-office platform division.

Intel, the world's No.1 chipmaker, has struggled in the face of fierce competition with rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD - commentary - Cramer's Take) and what appears to be a slowing PC market overall.

Last week, the company projected that its 2006 revenue would be down about 3% from 2005, compared with its initial projections that sales would rise 6% to 9% this year.

While Intel remains the dominant supplier of PC microprocessors, it has lost market share to AMD in recent months.

Long an also-ran in the microprocessor industry, AMD's dual-core Opteron server processor has won fans in the corporate world thanks to its performance and power efficiency.

AMD has declared 2006 to be the year that the company will expand its corporate foothold from servers to take share in desktop and notebook PCs.

Intel's Bryant said the vPro platform was not a reactionary move against the competition. "We started planning this product a long time ago," said Bryant, describing the vPro as "by far the best professional desktop platform, period."