Debut McAfee and Intel product due in 2011

The first joint offering from McAfee and Intel will be launched in the first half of 2011, an executive confirmed today.

Renee James, senior vice president of the software and services group at Intel, was cagey with details on the product but left a few hints during a question and answers session with journalists at IDF 2010.

She defended Intel's relative silence about products, since its high profile and high price tag acquisition of the company in August, by saying: "We haven't closed the deal, we are in the regulatory approval period, so we aren't really talking about what we will be doing in the future."

However James added: "What I can tell you is that many of the things that you know and love that are in the core product line today and are moving over into Atom over time have possibilities for use for different pieces of security."

She spoke about Intel's launch of Anti-Theft, an offering that bricks your computer if it is stolen and, in turn, restores it when found, and also briefly mentioned virtualisation, before adding: "There are existing features in our microprocessors and chipsets that in combination with McAfee assets and knowledge about what's going on, the threat landscape, we can build some very, very exciting new products."

She concluded the products would definitely come to market in 2011 but said those interested will just have to "stay tuned" for more details.