I found this article about Microsoft's newest plans. Might lead to new jobs and new opportunities for improvement in the future. However I think Microsoft's struggle to become the best developer for internet search engines will be very hard to accomplish. What do you think?

Here is the article:

Microsoft said Thursday that it would set up research centers in Britain, France, and Germany to improve its Internet search technology, describing the move as a vote of confidence in the European economy and in the company's ability to close the gap with Google.

The chief executive, Steve Ballmer, said at a news conference that the three "centers of excellence"--near Paris, in London, and in Munich--would employ several hundred people.

He declined to say how much the company would invest. But Microsoft, which has fought pitched battles with European regulators over its Windows operating system, said it was making a major financial commitment at a time when many companies were nervous about spending.

"Investing in anything at this time can be a tough sell," Ballmer said. "But when economic times are tough, we have to keep our faith in the promise that technology holds to transform the future."

Microsoft has been pushing to improve its ability to run Internet searches and to attract the advertising revenue that comes with them, after its failed bid to acquire Yahoo. Instead, Yahoo struck a deal with the market leader, Google, to share some search capabilities. "We are the challenger, not the leader, in search," Ballmer said. "But search is in its infancy, and there is so much room for innovation."

Google accounts for nearly 80 percent of Internet searches in Europe, according to the research company ComScore; its share is slightly more than 60 percent in the United States.

Microsoft has barely 1 percent of the European search market, according to ComScore, and in some countries it even trails local search engines.
In addition to working on improvements to Microsoft?s existing search technology, Mr. Ballmer said, the European centers would focus on new types of searches, including queries from mobile devices and searches involving pictures and video.

Yahoo, which has also struggled with the search market in Europe, is stepping up its efforts to compete as well. Last month the company announced a research and development complex in Grenoble, France.

For more info click here, cnet news