TOKYO - JAPANESE computer maker Fujitsu Ltd said on Wednesday that it has successfully developed the world's fastest supercomputer processing unit with more than twice the speed of the current leader.

A new central processing unit, or CPU, prototype successfully computed at 128 billion times per second - beating the current record, held by Intel Corp, by 2.5 times, company spokesman Masao Sakamoto said.

The company shrunk the size of each central circuit, thus doubling the number of circuits per chip, he said. The prototype is also energy-efficient and was able to cut power consumption to one-third of the conventional Fujitsu model.

Fujitsu aims to put the new CPU, with a code name 'Venus', into practical application in supercomputers 'within several years', Mr Sakamoto said.

Computer makers, including IBM Corp, Cray Inc and Intel, have been competing to develop a faster CPU. -- AP