The IBM Corp.'s most powerful computer will reportedly now be used for industrial and academic, as well as scientific, research.

The arrangement between IBM and the Argonne National Laboratory allows researchers who win a competition run by the U.S. Department of Energy, which funds Argonne, to use the Blue Gene supercomputer system, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Argonne and IBM have worked together for years in scientific research, but the new arrangement will enable scientists from industry and academia to also apply for computing time, the Tribune said.

IBM calls its Blue Gene system the "fastest privately owned supercomputer in the world."

Argonne has its own, smaller version of a Blue Gene supercomputer with 2,048 processors, while the one at IBM has 40,000 processors.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International