"The growth in employment for Microsoft will be more in India than the United States."
A substantial part of the money would go to creating a Windows operating system designed specifically for India and available in nine Indian languages. That could help Microsoft fend off challenges from cheaper open-source operating systems led by Linux, which has made deep inroads in India.
Half the money would go to improving Microsoft's research and development capabilities, including the creation of a new facility in the southern city of Bangalore, India's technology hub, the company said.
Earlier this year, Microsoft opened a research center in the southern city of Hyderabad, its fourth such facility worldwide. The Bangalore center is to be opened next month.
The expansion plans will nearly double Microsoft's work force in India by adding 3,000 jobs over the next three years to its existing pool of 4,000, Gates told business leaders on Wednesday.
Microsoft's efforts in India are aimed at narrowing the digital divide by creating products that are not only affordable for the poor but also address their "unique needs," he said.
One idea Gates raised has long been a holy grail in computing: developing thinking machines that respond to speech _ in various languages _ and thus render keyboards unnecessary. The tech research firm Gartner Inc. said Wednesday it expects Indian businesses to spend $25.12 billion on information technology in 2006, an increase of 23.7 percent over the current year.
Despite a low installed base of just 17 million computers, India's technology adoption is gaining momentum thanks to a booming software export industry and a growing domestic market.
Gartner said India can expect a growth of 20.8 percent for the next four years in business spending on computer hardware, software and communication products.
