Intel's Grove says Europe is falling behind in IT

Intel CEO Andrew Grove yesterday said Europe is falling behind the US and Asia in exploiting IT. The statement came at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, also attended by Microsoft CEO and chairman Bill Gates.

"If a generation of young people get trained and enter the workforce without acquiring an appropriate use of the tools of a lifetime, you are putting them at a serious disadvantage in terms of allowing them to earn a living," Grove said in a speech to delegates. "We are building a technology deficit and passing this on to future generations ... due to a lack of will of a current generation."

Grove backed up his claims by noting that Intel's European sales have only moved up one point to 28 per cent in the last decade while Asia Pacific has trebled its slice of the pie to account for 19 per cent. Grove also claimed that e-mail usage in the US is ten times higher than in Western Europe.