Ex-Microsoft exec to head Google office in Israel

Google Inc. hired a former Microsoft Corp. executive to open an office in Israel to tap online advertising spending in the country.

Meir Brand will be country manager of Google Israel and will be based in Tel Aviv, Google said Friday in an e-mailed statement from its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters.

Google and Microsoft, currently locked in a legal battle over Google's hiring of former Microsoft China executive Kai-Fu Lee, are seeking technological talent to develop new products and expand in emerging markets.

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