In a bid for a little publicity for the chip, big in China but not too popular throughout the rest of the PC using world, VIA is offering its 800MHz C3 in a "special edition" metal can aimed at individuals building their own PC or upgrading an existing processor.

The 'Cool Chip in a Can' edition will be sold initially in Japan and later through the rest of the world, where it will become the latest in a long line of silly packaging designed to tickle the fancy of consumers. Our particular favourite is the original version of graphics application Painter, which shipped in a... er... paint can.

VIA's tin contains the CPU plus fan, heatsink and manual, as per a regular C3 pack. ®