Intel, the global chip giant, said today that as a result of stronger than expected demand for microprocessors and chipsets, it now expects revenue for the third quarter to be $9.0 billion, plus or minus $200 million, as compared to the previous range of $8.5 billion, plus or minus $400 million. The gross margin percentage for the third quarter is expected to be in the upper half of the previous range of 53 percent, plus or minus two percentage points. All other expectations are unchanged.

Intel's third-quarter Business Outlook was originally published in the company's second-quarter 2009 earnings release. The company is scheduled to report its third-quarter financial results on Oct. 13th.

Intel also recently announced Progress Thru Processors, a new volunteer computing application built on the Facebook platform that allows people to donate their PCs' unused processor power to research projects such as Rosetta@home, which uses the additional computing power to help find cures for cancer and other diseases such as HIV and Alzheimer's.

On Thursday, chip customer Dell reported a dip in quarterly profit and sales but it said they were seeing signs that the PC industry is beginning to recover. Last week, the world's top  PC maker, Hewlett-Packard, said the market was stabilising.

Intel's expected $9 billion revenue estimate for the third quarter compares with $10.2 billion in the same quarter in 2008.

Microsoft Corp.’s new Windows 7 operating system, along with faster Intel processors, could spur PC and server purchases next year, Dell said on Thursday.