Despite a rumored round of layoffs, the world's biggest software maker won't turn into Mini-Microsoft any time soon. Instead, Bill Gate's empire is expanding its already massive 30,000-employee headquarters in Redmond for up to 12,000 more workers (or, as the New York Times grimly puts it, "bodies").

"The Redmond you'll see even in a year will make your eyes pop," said a Microsoft spokesperson. Will it be as pretty as the new offices Steve Jobs is building in Cupertino? One suspects that the campus, like all Microsoft products, will come three years late and look like the old edition of its Apple counterpart.

Microsoft Is Looking for More Elbow Room [NYT]