Checking further:
Asus specs indicate: Intel® Atom™ N2600 (Dual Core; 1.6GHz) Processor
which has: Architecture x86-64
BUT
- machine has Windows 7 32 bit installed (only supported product by Asus)
- BIOS has this in the CPU configuration section: EMT64 Not Supported
seems this is common - cripple the CPU in the BIOS .... and when there's a will, there's a way
mod the BIOS
think I'll keep it simple and follow this original lead (unless someone can make a recommendation that may be a better option)
Thanks for the help - much appreciated