Microsoft said on Tuesday that it will spend $500 million on building a new European data-processing center in Ireland.
Microsoft said in a statement that the planned Dublin center will house tens of thousands of servers providing information and Web-based applications to Internet users.
Construction will begin later this month, with the center expected to be completed by 2009.
"This is the first 'mega data center' deployment outside the U.S. specifically targeted for the growth and performance of Windows Live services," said John Mangelaars, vice president of Microsoft's Online Services Group in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
The software giant said an additional "substantial" investment is planned to help fund the center's server technology.
The 51,000-square-meter facility will deliver Windows Live services and store data for the company's online-services businesses, such as MSN and Windows Live.
Industry sources said the highly automated facility would create about 20 jobs. Microsoft employs 1,200 staff in Ireland at another site in Dublin.
The company said the Irish government and regional administration had shown "great commitment to growing next-generation businesses."
"The fact that Ireland has been selected as the location for this strategic infrastructure is a very strong endorsement of the success of our operations here over the past 22 years," Microsoft Ireland Managing Director Joe Macri said.
