Microchip designer ARM said today that it has started to win contracts in the rapidly expanding market for low-cost laptops known as netbooks.

ARM said PC makers would be using ARM's processors in six new netbook models this year.

Last year 14 million netbooks were sold around the world. Industry experts forecast that between 25million and 30 million will be sold this year and between 40 million and 45 million next year by which time ARM hopes that its chips will be used in up to 30 per cent of the market.

Netbooks cost about £200, are generally smaller than conventional laptops and are used mostly for emailing and internet surfing. Currently the Atom processor by chip giant Intel dominates the netbook market.

ARM executive vice-president Mike Inglis said: "It's just a beginning and we are starting from a zero base," adding that ARM expects to be in at least 20 new ARM-based netbook models next year. "For lower-end products, China is a big opportunity," he said.

ARM designs processor cores for chips that power about 90 per cent of the world's cellphones, and it earns licence fees when semiconductor-makers agree to make chips based on its designs.