PC sales in Western Europe leapt 23 per cent in second quarter of 2008, according to research firm Gartner.

Sales in the UK, Germany and France increased by more than 20 per cent, pushing growth to its highest level since 1999.

Sales were bolstered by shipments of notebooks, which registered a 45 per cent rise in the second quarter.

"The PC market in Western Europe is growing strongly despite the prevailing weakening economic climate," said Ranjit Atwal, principal analyst at Gartner.

"While the PC market is not immune from economic forces, sharp declines in average selling prices have certainly fostered the growth."

The UK performed particularly well with PC sales of 2.8 million units, representing an increase of 27.4 per cent compared with the same period in 2007.

"The PC market in the UK performed strongly this quarter with both the consumer and professional markets fuelling growth," said Atwal.

Notebooks accounted for 64 per cent of the total PC shipments, growing at the expense of desktop PCs which experienced an eight per cent decline year-on-year.

Dell and HP continue to fill the number one and two positions, accounting for a combined market share of nearly 45 per cent.

"The PC market in the UK again performed above expectations as the consumer market continued to boom," said Atwal.

"The introduction of the mini-notebook PC has created some excitement, and we expect sales in this segment to help the market sustain growth for the rest of the year."