NEWSLINKS
Y2K BIZ FEATURES
INDIA & THE W.T.O.
NEW GOVERNMENT
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
COMMENTARY
CREDIT POLICY
BUDGET 1999-2000
USEFUL INFO
ARCHIVES
SEARCH REDIFF

Murdoch plans multimedia facility

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has signed an agreement with the government of the southern Indian state of Karnataka to set up a multimedia facility worth $ 229 million, an official said on Wednesday.

"They will set up the facility for digital studios and a software development centre in the state. It will be up and running within three months," Karnataka state IT secretary Vivek Kulkarni said.

"The company has already invested in a dot-com venture in the state. But this will be their first direct foreign investment in Karnataka," Kulkarni said.

The agreement, which follows Murdoch's visit to Bangalore in March this year, was signed at the end of a two-day Global Investors Meet in Bangalore late on Tuesday, he said.

During a three-day stay in March, Murdoch said he wanted to use Bangalore to develop e-commerce ventures as well as for facilities for his Star Television satellite network.

News Corp. made its first major foray into India's Internet sector in April, investing in a new portal, indya.com, launched by local information technology company Microland Group, which is based in Bangalore.