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"It might make for good business practice, but damn if Microsoft's plan to \"invest\" in South Korea's software industry \"as part of the US giant's drive to strengthen its presence in the country\" doesn't sound a bit desperate. After all, shouldn't your software be so compelling that governments and companies fall all over themselves for the rights to use it (eh, hem: Android)? In a $60 million deal announced after Steve Ballmer lobbied met with South Korea's president, Lee Myung-Bak, Microsoft will train software designers, support venture firms, and establish a tech center in South Korea over the next three years. The Korean government will invest about $8.4 million. In separate but related deals also announced today, Microsoft entered into a vague agreement with LG -- having something to do with convergence using LG's mobile gear and Microsoft's WinMo OS -- and opened a research center with Hyundai to develop new IT products and services for automotive applications.  Thumbs up, indeed.Read -- $60,000,000 investment Read -- Hyundai deal Read -- LG and Microsoft"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/03/microsoft-pays-south-koreans-60-million-to-use-its-software/>