Cuba logs on to the world of PCs

Desktop computers have gone on sale in Cuba for the first time, thus ending another despised restriction on daily life in the Communist island.

A QTech PC and monitor costs nearly $780 (£395). While few Cubans can afford that, dozens still gawked outside a tiny Havana electronics store.

The QTech, complete with DVD player, bulky monitor and standard-issue mouse and keyboard, is the only model available. Each has an Intel Celeron processor and is equipped with Microsoft's Windows XP operating system – both possible violations of a US trade embargo, but not something Washington can do anything about in the absence of diplomatic relations with Havana. Clerks said the PCs were assembled by Cuban companies using parts imported from China.