Software producer Microsoft said on Wednesday that it would set up a multimillion-dollar research and development center in Beijing in partnership with Lenovo, the domestic computer manufacturer. The announcement came as Bill Gates, company chairman, arrived in the Chinese capital on a four-day visit, the Wall Street Journal reported. Each company will hold a 50% share in the center, which will be located at Lenovo's corporate base. They will share intellectual property and collaborate on opportunities in the consumer and mobile markets, such as smart handsets, ultra-portable personal computers, and digital-media and internet applications. Microsoft, which struck a deal with Lenovo in 2005 for its operating systems to be pre-installed on the computers sold in China, hopes to further exploit the company's dominance in its home market.