April 17 (Bloomberg) -- Intel Corp., the world's largest semiconductor maker, unveiled new processors today that boost computer speed and use less electricity, putting pressure on its rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

Company executives introduced 20 new products, including microprocessors made with the most-advanced production technology, at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing, Santa Clara, California- based Intel said in a statement.

Intel uses its twice-a-year developer conferences to stir up interest among personal-computer makers for new chips. Today's event, the first time it is being held in China, highlights the country's importance to Intel after the company said last month it would invest $2.5 billion to build its first chip-making plant in the nation.

``They are a year ahead of AMD in their manufacturing process,'' said Steve Kleynhans, a Toronto-based analyst for Gartner Inc., who was briefed on Intel's plans before the forum started. The new manufacturing technology ``takes Intel's processors one step further forward with using lower power and producing more work.''

In the U.S. today, Intel may report its first sales increase in five quarters after the company gained back market share from Advanced Micro, according to the average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg. Intel shares rose 23 cents to $20.69 yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.

Introducing Penryn

At the event in China, Intel displayed a working version of its new Penryn chip, which processes three-dimensional images 25 percent faster than the company's current top-of-the line semiconductor.

Penryn will let computers run video games 40 percent faster, Sean Maloney, the company's head of sales, said on an earlier conference call.

The Penryn name refers to chips made with 45-nanometer production equipment. That means the tiny wire lines that make up the chips' transistors are 45 nanometers wide. A nanometer is 1 billionth of a meter.

By shrinking the size of transistors, Intel can make chips faster and more efficient. Since there are smaller distances between the electronic components, they require less energy to activate.

Penryn products will be in production ``late this year,'' Intel Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner said at a presentation during the forum. The products will go on sale by the end of 2007, Intel said.

The company aims to produce chips using 32-nanometer technology by 2009, Rattner said. Intel expects to ship 1 million so-called quad-core processor chips by the end of June, he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ian King in San Francisco at ianking@bloomberg.net; Janet Ong in Beijing at jong3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 17, 2007 01:03 EDT