Germany site of new public sector research lab

Microsoft Corp. officially opened its new applied research and development lab in Aachen, Germany, in April, roughly one year after the U.S. software giant announced plans to tap expertise on the Continent. The European Microsoft Innovation Center (EMIC) has been established with the goal of collaborating with other high-tech companies and research centers in areas where Europe is leading or has unique requirements, such as mobile and embedded software, security, privacy and Web services, according to Microsoft’s Web site. The centre will also focus on software technology for the public sector in areas such as e-learning, e-government and e-health, according to information published on the Web site of Microsoft’s German subsidiary. Aachen won the bid for the new Microsoft lab largely because of its renowned technical university, one of the leaders in Europe in the fields of IT and wireless communications, according to statements published on Web sites of both Microsoft and RWTH Aachen University.