Today New York state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo launched an antitrust probe into Intel Corp. for possible illegal actions that hurt its main rival, AMD.

Cumo’s action follows after earlier this week Intel announced that it had responded to the European Commission’s antitrust charges and that it would also seek a hearing.

The world’s most popular chip maker’s legal problems with the EU started back in July 2007, when the European Commission charged Intel with slashing prices below cost and offering huge rebates in an allegedly illegal attempt to drive Advanced Micro Devices, its everlasting rival, out of the market.

Now, New York AG said in statement that is office "served a wide-ranging subpoena seeking documents and information on Intel Corporation" in the investigation into "whether Intel violated state and federal antitrust laws."

"After careful preliminary review, we have determined that questions raised about Intel's potential anticompetitive conduct warrant a full and factual investigation," said Cuomo.

"Our investigation is focused on determining whether Intel has improperly used monopoly power to exclude competitors or stifle innovation. We will also look at whether Intel abused its power to remove competitive threats or harm competition in violation of New York and federal antitrust laws," he added.

Three years ago, in 2005, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) has been investigating Intel’s approach to business in Japan and the company concluded that Intel has violated the country’s competition laws. Shortly after, AMD has filed its own lawsuit against Intel.