Google to open R&D center in China

Google said Tuesday it is opening a research and development office in China -- quickly drawing a lawsuit from Microsoft for hiring away one of that company’s top China experts to lead the new effort.

The R&D center, to be headed by former Microsoft executive Kai-Fu Lee, will open sometime in the third quarter of 2005, the Mountain View search technology company said Tuesday. Google would not say where in China the center will be located.

``By establishing an R&D center in China,’’ the company said in a statement, ``Google is making a strong commitment to attracting and developing Chinese talent, as well as partnering with local universities and institutes.’’

Lee, widely known for his speech recognition and artificial intelligence work, joined Microsoft in 1998 as its managing director of research in China, founding its Beijing research lab. More recently, he was corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Natural Interactive Services Division, where he oversaw efforts to develop technologies to make user interfaces simpler and more natural.

Although it offers a Chinese language version of its search engine, Google’s presence in China has been limited, to date. The company in May received a license from the Chinese government to operate a ``representative office,’’ now in Shanghai, to learn about the market.

Google already has research centers in Mountain View, New York, Santa Monica, Kirkland, Wash., Tokyo, Zurich and Bangalore.

Speculation that Google was preparing a significant push into China has accelerated in recent weeks, particularly after Chief Executive Eric Schmidt was seen visiting the country. Google is a minority owner of Baidu, a Chinese search engine, and observers have wondered whether Google wanted to buy the company outright.

But Baidu has reportedly said it is not interested in being acquired, and the company recently filed to go public on the Nasdaq.