Microsoft's Research and Development Center in China » Science, Technology and Internet [Feb 01, 2007]
Shanghai is the next target of Microsoft. The largest city in the Peoples Republic of China will house Microsoft's new center for research and development. The center is to work on the company's MSN service. It is to be the first center of this kind to work outside the United States.
Microsoft's decision is explained with the fact that the corporation saw setbacks in some of its services working in China. One of its main issues concerns the resignation of the company's top executive Luo Chuan, who was responsible for the Windows Live unit. Now he is tipped to become first chief executive at a Chinese department of MySpace, which is a MSN look-alike website.
The Zizhu Science Park, in Shanghai, is the place where Microsoft is to establish its center and it is also the place where Intel Corp. has already set its own research office. Microsoft's center will develop there Internet software. The cost of the R&D; center is about $ 20 million. A special technical support team will be working on the company's MSN Messenger. The company hopes that this on-line communication tool will play a significant role in life of Chinese teenagers.
Currently in China the communication program is used by more than 20 million people. The analyst at Media Partners Asia, Doug Crets, stated that Microsoft's plan to establish a research and development center in Shanghai may indicate the fact that the software giant is keen to take advantage of the Chinese somewhat flexible environment. He also mentioned that Microsoft looks forward to benefit from the pool of engineering talent, which Chinese market represents.
The huge market, where various global players look forward to take their piece of profitable cake, is quite advantageous for Microsoft. The company's investment might help consolidate its prominent position in Peoples Republic of China. Although the corporation has a development center in Beijing, set back in 1995, it lacks an R&D; facility for MSN service.
Later MSN China looks forward to establish a partnership with Shanghai Media Group. Microsoft's new center is to develop software for one of China's biggest media companies. Shanghai Media Group works with online video and shopping business and Microsoft's goal in the partnership is to provide technical support.
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Microsoft Corp. is establishing, in Shanghai, China, a center for research and development. The center will work on the company's MSN service. It will be Microsoft's first research and development center of this kind outside the U.S. 

Microsoft decided to take this step because of several setbacks that occurred in its online services working in China. One of the company's setbacks concerns the resignation of Luo Chuan, who was Microsoft's top executive responsible for the Chinese Windows Live unit. 

The company's new research and development center is to be established in Shanghai's Zizhu Science Park. At this location, where another giant, Intel Corp, already has its research office, Microsoft plans to develop Internet software.

The center is estimated to cost $ 20 million. It will have a special technical support team that will work on Microsoft's MSN Messenger. The company hopes to make its online communication tool popular among Chinese teenagers and young professionals.

Microsoft already has an R&D center in Beijing. However, the software giant lacks a facility to work with its well-known MSN service. Investing in its communication tool may strengthen the company's leading position on the Chinese market.

Setting up the MSN research and development center in Peoples Republic of China implies that Microsoft looks forward to taking advantage of the Chinese market, which represents a quite flexible environment. This statement was made by Doug Crets, who works at Media Partners Asia as a Hong-Kong-based analyst.