Microsoft to build its first large data center in Europe, and has revealed plans to announce details of a similar data center near Chicago.

A new data center outside of Dublin, Ireland, will deliver Windows Live services to customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Microsoft said. It will be the first large data center for Microsoft in Europe.

The company expects to spend US$500 million on the building, which should be complete in mid-2009. It will house tens of thousands of servers, Microsoft said. The data center will be designed and built using energy-efficient techniques, the company said.

Microsoft's European headquarters is also in Dublin.

Microsoft also plans to reveal details on Wednesday of another new data center that will be located outside Chicago, following a report in Crain's Chicago Business about the new facility. Company representatives would not reveal additional details before Wednesday.
The new facilities join two others currently under development by Microsoft, including one in Quincy, Washington, and another in Austin, Texas. The facilities will support Microsoft's software plus services strategy, which offers applications through a combination of online services and software, instead of applications that are fully delivered via software. Such applications from Microsoft include some in its Windows Live bundle of offerings.

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