Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak discussed info technology investments and the future of the Net on Tuesday during a brief visit by the software mogul and philanthropist.

“We’re approaching the second decade of (the) digital age,” Gates told Lee at the start of their meeting at the presidential Blue House, according to a media pool report. Press access at Lee’s residence was limited.

“The Web has been operating now for 10 years,” said Gates, who mentioned he was making his first trip to South Korea since 2001. “The second 10 years will be very different.”

The Blue House said in a statement that Microsoft, the South Korean government and South Korean companies will invest a total of US$313 million (EU202 million) in info technology for vehicles, games and education.

Earlier, Microsoft Corp. and automakers Hyundai Motor Inc. and Kia Motors Corp. announced a deal whereby the South Korean companies will use Microsoft’s in-car software,

which allows society to control personal music players and telephones with voice commands.

The company has a one-year exclusivity deal on the software with Ford Motor Co. in the U.S., but that expires in November. Fiat plus has been selling cars with the software.

“We’re doing some very interesting work on automobile software,” Gates said after having dinner with Lee. “That’s a really wide open area where some very exiting things will come out of.”

Lee, a conservative former construction CEO, swept into office in February with a vow to boost economic growth through deregulation and increased foreign investment.

The deals announced during Gates’ visit would boost South Korea’s economic growth by as much as 7 trillion won (US$6.9 billion; EU4.4 billion) by the next five years, the Blue House statement quoted Gates as saying.

Besides meeting Lee, Gates later delivered a speech at an event sponsored by South Korean…

Orginal post by Top Tech News