Mr Cuomo said in a statement his office 'served a wide-ranging subpoena seeking documents and information on Intel Corporation' in the investigation into 'whether Intel violated state and federal antitrust laws.'

The probe focuses on whether Intel was 'coercing customers to exclude its main rival, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), from the worldwide market for x86 computer processing units (CPU),' Mr Cuomo said.

'After careful preliminary review, we have determined that questions raised about Intel's potential anticompetitive conduct warrant a full and factual investigation,' said Mr Cuomo.

'Our investigation is focused on determining whether Intel has improperly used monopoly power to exclude competitors or stifle innovation.'

'We will also look at whether Intel abused its power to remove competitive threats or harm competition in violation of New York and federal antitrust laws.'

The subpoena seeks documents and information concerning Intel's pricing practices and possible attempt to exclude competitors through its market domination.

The European Union's top competition watchdog has launched a similar probe.

The EU Commission accuses Intel of offering 'substantial' rebates to computer makers that mostly used its chips, making payments to clients to delay or cancel products using AMD's chips, and selling its chips at below cost in some cases. -- AFP