Google sets up Tokyo facility

Google has said it will open a research and development lab in Tokyo, bolstering its technical expertise in four countries.

The search company said it will begin aggressively hiring engineers in Tokyo, where it has already opened an advertising sales office. The Tokyo group will join a rapidly growing research arm within Google, one of the most popular internet search engines worldwide.

Google employs engineers in Mountain View and Santa Monica - both in California - New York, Switzerland and Ireland. It also plans to employ more than 100 engineers in India, an office it opened in late 2003.

"Not all great engineers live in Palo Alto [near Google's California headquarters]. They live around the world," company spokeswoman Debbie Frost said. "This is a way for Google to expand engineering without having to keep it in one place."

Stefanie Olsen writes for CNET News.com.