U.S. tech-giant Microsoft has chosen Sydney to be the site of its first flagship retail store outside of the United States.
Local media reported the Bill Gates-created company will open a 581-square meter store in the heart of Sydney's bustling CBD, where it will compete with nearby Apple stores.
It was only last year that Microsoft opened its first major stand-alone retail store in New York, following the establishment of smaller operations in U.S. and Canadian shopping malls.
Microsoft is bustling into the gadget market which Apple and Samsung have so successfully exploited.