China has developed its most advanced computer central processing unit (CPU), a major step forward in its fast-developing IT sector and compete over the foreign-dominated domestic semiconductor market, People’s Daily reported. According to developers, official tests show the CPU can rival early-series Intel Pentium IV processor in performance, but could be produced at a much lower cost. The "Godson-2E" CPU is developed by the Chinese Academy of Science's Institute of Computing Science. It is ready for mass production, said the paper. Scientists are also working on multi-core technology, which promises more efficient computer processing. Intel shipped the first "dual-core" processor last year, but Li Guojie, director of the institute, said his team was working on processors with "eight to 16" cores. The successful development of Godson series is not only a boost for the domestic IT industry, but a strategic victory in terms of China's economic and national defence security, said Minister of Science and Technology Xu Guanhua yesterday.