Acer Inc will surpass Hewlett-Packard Inc to become the world's No. 1 laptop personal computer next year through the growth in emerging markets and netbook products, the world's No. 2 PC maker said yesterday in Beijing.

Acer is to establish research centers in Beijing and Shanghai to design products specifically for the domestic market.

At present, Taiwan-based Acer is ranked No. 5 in China and aims to become No. 3 next year.

"Laptop PCs will continue to become mainstream products in the market and demand for them will surge after the (financial) crisis," said Gianfranco Lanci, Acer's chief executive.

Acer will add features to its laptops, including longer battery life, 3G chipsets, high definition displays and multiple systems (Windows 7 and Google's Chrome OS), Lanci said.

Acer's laptop sales will grow 20 percent year on year in the fourth quarter and keep the growth rate next year, he said. The global PC market grew 2.3 percent in sales in the third quarter on a yearly basis.

In the third quarter, Acer surpassed Dell to become the global No. 2 PC maker with a 14-percent market share, behind only HP's 20 percent, according to IDC, a United States-based research firm.

Acer's market share in the laptop market is close to HP's, with each of them at about 20 percent, Lanci said.