1. A data processing device comprising an operand storage circuit for storing operands, each subdivided into a plurality of segments at respective positions in the operand; an instruction execution unit for executing an instruction containing one or more operand references, each referring commonly to the segments of a respective source operand in the operand storage circuit, said instruction causing the instruction execution unit to execute a plurality of operations in parallel and independently of one another, each operation combining predetermined segments from one or more of the respective source operands, characterized in that at least one of the operations combines segments that have mutually different positions in the one or more respective source operands and/or that at least one of the operations differs from the other operations.