GOOGLE is planning an assault on PC manufacturers with an entry-level computer that would mark its most audacious expansion to date.

The American internet giant is thought to be on the verge of launching a slimmed-down machine that will sell for $200 (£115) and work without Microsoft software.

Larry Page, co-founder of Google, is expected to reveal details of the plans on Friday when he delivers the keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Google is understood to have formed a partnership with Wyse Technology, an American technology group, which will provide the hardware. Google will provide the software for the machine.

The computer terminal itself will be relatively limited in what it can do, with much of the processing power supplied through a central network, from where users will also access applications such as a word-processor or spreadsheet.

The network structure, which is used by companies already, significantly reduces the risk that users will be subject to computer viruses and reduces the cost of the individual computer terminals.

However, the control that Google would have over the network could reignite privacy concerns aired with the launch of Gmail, Google’s e-mail service, which monitors the text of e-mails to place appropriate advertisements alongside messages.

The launch of the computer has been made possible by the accelerating take-up of broadband internet services.

The machines will not be supplied with Microsoft’s Windows operating software, which is installed on about

90 per cent of desktop PCs. Dell’s entry-level desktop PC, which is supplied with Windows, sells for $299 in the United States.

Google is also reported to have agreed a deal with Wal-Mart to distribute the computer, according to the Los Angeles Times, although early reports on the move suggested that the machine was being developed for the Indian and Chinese markets alone.

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