Munich based Infineon has 32,000 employees

The US Department of Justice(DoJ) said Infineon, had taken part in an "international conspiracy" to fix prices between 1999 and 2002.

The firm has agreed to co-operate with the Department in its investigation into the pricing of memory chips.

The penalty is the largest criminal fine in a DoJ case in three years.

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Infineon said it had pleaded guilty to a "single and limited" charge of violating US antitrust laws.

The firm added that it was in the process of reaching settlements with all affected customers.

"Infineon strongly condemns any attempt to fix or stabilise prices and is committed to vigorous and fair competition based solely on superior products and services," the firm said in a statement.

This case sends the message that high-tech price-fixing cartels will not be tolerated John Ashcroft, US Attorney General

The felony charge, filed in San Francisco, alleged that Infineon and other unnamed companies conspired to fix prices of dynamic random access memory(dram) chips over a three year period.

These are the most commonly used semiconductor memory products.

"This case sends the message that high-tech price-fixing cartels will not be tolerated," said US Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Infineon, whose US operation is based in San Jose, California, has more than 32,000 employees and recorded sales worth 6.15bn euros in 2003.