Microsoft last week made a $12.3 million investment in Sichuan Changhong Electric Co., giving Redmond a small stake in one of China's largest TV manufacturers. Sichuan Changhong Electric, in turn, has agreed to develop TVs and other products able to link with the Internet. It's clear from the move that Microsoft wants to get into the living rooms of China's consumers. "Microsoft and Changhong have partnered in exploring the use of digital media technologies to benefit the consumers for a better in-home networked digital entertainment experience," Microsoft said Friday in an email statement.

For more on the partnership:
- see this article in CIO Magazine