The Met Office has signed a deal with IBM for a computer which it says will be among the 20 most powerful systems in the world.

It says the "next-generation supercomputer" will provide the basis for its weather forecasting and climate research programmes up until 2013.

The technology will be used to generate earlier warnings of unusual, high-impact weather systems, the Met Office added.

Defence minister Derek Twigg MP said he was "very pleased" to approve the deal and stated that the new computer will enable the Met Office to "take advantage of latest technology and thereby deliver enhanced services to the public and both government and commercial customers".

Met Office chief executive John Hirst confirmed: "The new supercomputer is an important step in delivering our strategic targets."

Last month, IBM revealed it had agreed a deal to acquire French software services firm ILOG for around 215 million euros (£170 million).

It stated that completion of the deal is now dependent on a satisfactory fairness opinion being received and the offer subsequently being filed with France's stock exchange authority.

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were 'loss of control' (56 per cent) and 'budget over-runs' (43 per cent)