NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dell Computer Corp. DELL.O has replaced Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ.N as the No. 1 maker of personal computers worldwide, market research firm International Data Corp. said on Thursday.

"Dell is clearly the No. 1 worldwide at this point, by enough of a margin so that it's not a matter of statistical error," said IDC analyst Roger Kay. "Their lead is in the range of 5 percent."

Hewlett-Packard took the No. 1 spot from Dell earlier this year when it bought Compaq Computer Corp.

Dell shares were up 58 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $27.60 in late morning trading on the Nasdaq while Hewlett shares traded down 6 cents to $12.88 on the New York Stock Exchange.