TAIPEI -(Dow Jones)- Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and the Taiwan government signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday to jointly set up a research center for cloud computing in Taiwan, the U.S.-based software giant said in a statement. Microsoft and Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs will establish the "Software and Services Excellence Center" on the island within a year, Microsoft said in the statement, without disclosing the size of its investment. Ming-Ji Wu, director general of economic ministry's Department of Industrial Technology, said the center will be set up before the end of 2009. Microsoft said the venture is aimed at helping local contract makers of electronics products develop devices and services related to cloud computing. Cloud computing refers to an emerging technology that allows users to access data saved in remote servers through phones or computers. Barry Lam, chairman of Quanta Computer Inc. (2382.TW), the world's largest contract notebook maker by revenue, said in late October the company will focus on developing and making cloud computing servers in the coming years. -By Perris Lee Choon Siong and Jessie Ho, Dow Jones Newswires; +8862-2502-2557; perris.lee@dowjones.com
