The PC market in western Europe continued to grow during the most recent quarter, despite the economic slowdown. Total shipments reached 17.2 million units, an increase of 24.3 per cent on the same period in 2007, according to figures from analyst firm Gartner.

Demand in the consumer market was strong, although the desktop market declined by three per cent and the overall professional market increased just five per cent.

Acer moved into the number one spot with a 25 per cent market share on the back of mini-notebook sales, beating HP into second place with 20.7 per cent.

However, the PC market is not likely to continue its double-digit growth for much longer, Gartner warned, even with an increase in mini-notebook shipments.

"It is impossible for the PC market to avoid the negative impact that the macro-economic factors are having on the business and consumer markets," said principal Gartner analyst Ranjit Atwal.

"We expect organisations to keep their PCs longer, and consumers to delay buying additional PCs for the household. This in turn will force a deeper price war and further consolidation in the marketplace."

PC shipments in the UK increased by 17.5 per cent over the same period in 2007 to 3.4 million units, boosted by mini-notebook shipment growth.

But the UK desktop market declined by 10 per cent, highlighting a significant weakness in underlying business demand, said Gartner.