Oslo - Microsoft said Tuesday its main development centre for search engine technology was to be based in Norway.

Chief executive Steve Ballmer made the announcement after a meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

In the short-term, Microsoft was to hire 50 developers and researchers, Stoltenberg said.

Microsoft currently has some 300 employees in Norway, mainly employed by FastSearch & Transfer that the US-based giant acquired earlier this year.

The Oslo-based company is specialized in technology to retrieve information from documents, databases and software. (dpa)