The head of the Federal Trade Commission has rejected requests by lawmakers, other commissioners and a small rival company to open a formal antitrust investigation of Intel, the world's largest maker of computer microprocessors, for anticompetitive conduct, government officials and lawyers involved in the proceeding said. In recent weeks, regulators in Korea and with the European Commission have separately accused Intel of antitrust violations by offering large discounts to computer makers in exchange for their not using products by the rival company, Advanced Micro Devices, which has struggled to compete and has waged a global antitrust campaign against Intel. Japanese officials made similar accusations in 2005. The trade commission has been conducting an informal review of A.M.D.'s complaints for more than a year, gathering thousands of documents from Intel and its customers. But the commission's chairwoman, Deborah P. Majoras, has rejected requests to elevate the inquiry to a formal investigation, which would give staff members the authority to issue subpoenas and compel testimony from executives of the companies involved.

The action by the foreign regulators and the debate at the F.T.C. is part of a fierce and protracted legal, political and public relations battle between Intel and A.M.D. over the global market for microprocessors. The fight between the two - over an industry that generates annual revenues of more than $225 billion - is among the largest antitrust matters pending before American and foreign regulators. Besides lobbying regulators around the world, A.M.D. has sued Intel in a federal court in Delaware. A trial is scheduled to begin in spring 2009.

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