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  The company will add 3,000 employees to its existing workforce of 4,000, open a research center to complement 3 others around the world, and -- hoping to harness a new source of products -- create an "innovation center" in Bangalore to promote "education, entrepreneurial development and innovations by small business."
  
  
• India's middle class is equivalent to the entire U.S. population -- 300 million people, presenting a huge growth opportunity.
  

• Microsoft plans to create a version of Windows designed for the Indian market and localized into 9 Indian languages. This nod to India's multiculturalism surpasses most U.S. companies' recognition of differences in their own domestic ethnic markets. Such single-country localization could set a new bar for other software companies planning to compete in India and other nations with large multilingual populations.
  

Despite this level of investment, Microsoft still has its problems on the subcontinent. A June 2005 Network Magazine survey showed that nearly 40% of companies use Linux on their servers, but Microsoft says that its market share is growing. In any case, Microsoft's doubling down of its investment in India indicates the importance of this growing market -- and of localizing product to market needs.