Faced with the question of whether to build its European search technology center in France, Germany or the U.K., Microsoft"s answer is "all three," CEO Steve Ballmer said during an event in Paris on Thursday. Microsoft had been hinting since earlier this year that it would pick one of the three countries to build a research center to develop new search technologies.
However, Ballmer said the company will conduct the research in London, Munich and on the outskirts of Paris so as to be closer to customers and to attract the best staff. Ballmer was coy about how much the company will spend on the new search centers, saying only that it will recruit several hundred engineers to work in them.