Google to invest $390m in data center in Belgium

BRUSSELS (AP) — Internet search giant Google says it is investing 300 million euros ($390 million) to expand its continental European data center.

Google Inc. said Wednesday it will upgrade the facility in Belgium to meet growing demand for its online services.

The information underpinning Google's services — Internet search requests, Gmail or YouTube — is processed in industrial-scale data centers such as the Belgian plant in St. Ghislain southwest of Brussels.

Google says the center currently has some 120 employees and is one of the most energy-efficient facilities of its kind.

The company, based in Mountain View, California operates other data centers catering for the European market in Ireland and Finland.