Search engine mogul Google will open an engineering office in downtown Madison this fall, representatives said Monday.

“We are opening an office in Madison because the city offers an excellent quality of life, a deep local talent pool and commitment to education at all levels, including the University of Wisconsin,” Google representatives said in a statement.

The new office will primarily be used for hardware and software systems design. Google said they have been operating at a temporary office downtown since September 2007.

Google’s announcement came just days after Microsoft announced plans to open a laboratory in downtown Madison.

On Wednesday, Microsoft Corporation revealed a partnership with UW-Madison’s computer science department to open a downtown laboratory this spring.

While the Jim Gray Microsoft Lab will give computer science graduate students the opportunity to conduct research at the facility, the Google office will not have official ties to UW-Madison.