Microsoft Opens First Latin America Tech Center

Microsoft has opened its first technology center in Latin America and promised to invest $690 million (522 million euros) in Mexicoin the next year.

The Microsoft Technology Center (MTC), inaugurated in Mexico City late Tuesday, is part of a network of 25 sites set up around the world by the company started by Bill Gates, including 11 in the United States.

"The centers were conceived to develop access to innovative technologies" for companies and organizations, said Jean-Philippe Courtois, president of Microsoft International, at a ceremony celebrating 25 years of the multinational in Mexico.

The construction of the center cost $10 million, with support from companies including Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Samsung and Intel.

An additional investment of $690 million in Mexico by November 2012 would support education, local innovation and businesses, Courtois said.