Timothy Chen, former president of Motorola China, has reportedly taken up the reins of Microsoft China, coming on board in the newly-created role of CEO for Microsoft's greater China region, effective from September 1.

Chen's responsibilities will include supervising all of Microsoft's business lines in the region. China has recently been of increasing importance to Microsoft, with the Washington-based company making overtures to the Chinese government in response to the growth of the open-source Linux operating system.

Since 2002, Microsoft has been donating money to educational projects, investing in local companies, and most recently agreeing to reveal Windows code to the government as part of its program to reduce security fears, all in the hope of improving relations with China.