Microsoft has opened its first technology center in Latin America and promised to invest $690 million (522 million euros) in Mexico in the next year.

Microsoft has opened its first technology center in Latin America and promised to invest $690 million (522 million euros) in Mexico in the next year.

The Microsoft Technology Center (MTC), inaugurated in late Tuesday, is part of a network of 25 sites set up around the world by the company started by , including 11 in the United States.

"The centers were conceived to develop access to " for companies and organizations, said Jean-Philippe Courtois, president of Microsoft International, at a ceremony celebrating 25 years of the multinational in Mexico.

The construction of the center cost $10 million, with support from companies including Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Samsung and Intel.

An additional investment of $690 million in Mexico by November 2012 would support education, local innovation and businesses, Courtois said.