Preliminary data showed PC sales in the March quarter totalled 6.26 million units in the region, excluding Japan, up 9.5 percent from 5.72 million in the same quarter in 2002, International Data Corp. said in a report.

However, sales in the three months to March were nine percent lower compared with the December quarter, IDC said.

The improved sales came from strong demand in China, Australia and India, particularly from the government and education sectors, it said.

"The Asia Pacific region continued to steam ahead in spite of lingering uncertainties surrounding the global economy and the war in Iraq," said Bryan Ma, IDC's personal systems senior research manager.

"But the recent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) scare must be watched closely as it has already started to affect consumer buying in Hong Kong and Singapore," Ma said.

Singapore and Hong Kong, the two economies most badly affected by the outbreak, are already feeling the pinch as consumers stay at home to avoid exposure to the virus, IDC said.

IDC said the fallout from the respiratory disease outbreak, which broke out in March "is a variable that must be watched closely as it could begin to affect business in the region."

"The virus has only affected the consumer segment in Hong Kong and Singapore so far, but if additional efforts to contain SARS fail, a worsening situation could develop as many companies are dependent on doing business with countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong and the PRC (China)," it said.

"For now, IDC does not expect a major disruption in the world's IT supply chain, but this could change adversely if the SARS situation is not under control in the upcoming quarters," it said.

SPACE.WIRE