US-based networking software provider Novell - which signed an interoperability agreement with Microsoft in November 2006 - will open new R&D centers in China and India, with the latter estimated to recruit about a staff of 800.

Further details, however, were not yet disclosed.

According to Taiwan's Economic Daily News, after rolling out the Chinese-language version of its products, the company is planning to develop the Japanese-language version soon. In addition, through the Novell-Microsoft strategic alliance, both parties will cooperate to ensure the interoperability between proprietary and open-source software and that customers of respective companies will be free of patent infringement concerns. The two companies also plan to further expand their technical partnership, whereby Microsoft will purchase certificates and technical support from Novell, so as to better serve Microsoft's customers.

Novell's current partnerships include Dell and Lenovo in the hardware segment; SAP, Micorsoft, and IBM in the software segment; and AMD in the chipset segment.