Craig R Barrett, chairman of Intel Corporation and chairman of the United Nations' Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies, will visit India from September 3 to 5.

This will be his ninth visit to India.

The primary charter of Barrett's visit to India is to drive the Intel World Ahead Program with communities, government, academia and industry. This programme is an initiative through which Intel plans to invest $1 billion globally over the next five years to accelerate access to uncompromised technology across four major focus areas: accessibility, connectivity, education and content.

On his last trip to India in November 2006, Barrett and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had visited Baramati where they dedicated the town's first digital hospital and WiMAX network making it the first 'World Ahead Community.'

During this trip, Barrett will visit New Delhi and a yet undisclosed tier-4 town in South India as Intel continues to support the government in taking technology to rural areas.

Speaking on the Intel boss's trip to India, Ramamurthy Sivakumar, managing director (sales and marketing), Intel South Asia, said: Through the Intel World Ahead Program, we have been working towards accelerating access to technology for citizens in developing countries across the globe. Over the last year, as a part of this programme, Barrett has travelled to more than 30 developing countries including India, to witness how people in these countries are benefiting from technology."

The Intel World Ahead Program aims to enhance lives by accelerating access to uncompromised technology for everyone, anywhere in the world. Focussed on people in the world's developing communities, it integrates and extends Intel's efforts to advance progress in four areas: accessibility, connectivity, education and content.

Intel's goal is not only to extend affordable PC access but to develop the PCs tailored to local needs, drive critical connectivity, cultivate sustainable local capabilities, and provide the technology education needed to make a meaningful difference in people's lives.