Google eyes up Israel

The paper says Google co-founder Sergey Brin told it the web advertising outfit is "in the process of establishing" an R&D centre in the controversial country.

The facility would be Google's ninth R&D operation in a network that encompasses the US, China, India, Japan and Switzerland.

The tid-bit comes from the Davos World Economic Forum 2006 for rich folk in Switzerland, where Brin was apparently courted by anyone in a suit, according to the BBC .

The company has already recruited a number of academics and techies in Israel, says Ha'Aretz here. µ