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The third version of USB (Universal Serial Bus) will be able to transfer data at up to 4.8 gigabits per second, according to American magazine PC World.
USB is a widely-adopted computer interconnect technology that is used on everything from digital cameras to cellphones and even novelty items like cup warmers.
The first iteration of USB was capable of up to 15 megabits per second, while USB2.0 is capable of 480 megabits.
The USB 3.0 Promoter Group, which includes industry leaders like Intel, Microsoft and Texas Instruments announced at the recent Intel Developers Conference that the new specification would aim at a tenfold speed increase over 2.0.
Intel says that the 3.0 standard would be, like its predecessor, backwards compatible, while also being optimised for low power consumption.
Ports and cabling will be designed with both copper and optical capabilities, meaning higher speeds could come in the future, or as part of a 3.1 standard.
A wireless USB format (WUSB) runs at the same pace as USB 2.0, but Intel has talk of a 1.1 version of the cable-free connection that will support data transfer speeds of up to 1Gbit/s.
