NEIL MacDONALD

Wimax, dongle and mashup. They might be unintelligible to technophobes, but they are just some examples of the colourful vocabulary of Europe's fastest-growing language: Nerdic.

Speedy technological advancement means that "geek speak" has become a language in its own right, according to new research.

More than 100 words are born into Nerdic, the language of technology, every year, more than three times the number of new words appearing in the Oxford English Dictionary.

This year the number of new words is expected to double, and researchers believe that Nerdic could eventually become more widely spoken than any other European dialect.

The research was carried out by Pixmania.com, an online technology retail company, or "e-tailer".

Ulric Jerome, managing director of Pixmania.com, said: "Technology has infiltrated our lives in many ways and at such a pace it's natural that it has developed a language of its own.

"It's exciting to see Nerdic bringing Europe together and by recognising Nerdic as an official language the UK will continue to help unite technology fans across Europe."