WebProNews

We think Microsoft might just be rubbing it in at this point.  Even as Yahoo's stock plunges and major layoffs are rumored to be on the way, Steve Ballmer has announced that his company is opening research centers in London, Munich, and Paris.

These facilities will come in addition to a development center planned for Norway, and technically, the three new "centres of excellence" will all be part of a larger European machine.  Microsoft hasn't shared a dollar figure or personnel forecast, but neither number is likely to be small.

 

A data center in Dublin, for example, had a price tag of about $500 million.  Also, Steve Ballmer explained in a statement, "Europe is second only to the United States in the number of engineers and researchers we have working on creating innovative products and services."

As for timeframes in the attack on Google, Ballmer's still not promising any sort of immediate turnaround, continuing, "The Search Technology Centre is an important step forward in our long-term strategy to invest in local development of search technology in Europe."

Don't be surprised if other European countries start throwing tax incentives at Microsoft in the near future.