Amazon is to open a London technology hub to develop the next generation of TV and film technology.

The etailer has taken an eight-storey, 47,000 sq ft office near Barbican tube station in the capital dubbed its Digital Media Development Centre.

Amazon said it will employ “hundreds” of software developers at the site in Glasshouse Yard which will open in the coming months.

Amazon-owned companies Pushbutton and Lovefilm will work together on new projects at the site.

Amazon hopes to spearhead the development of new interactive digital services for TVs, game consoles, smartphones and computers.

Amazon managing director for central London Paula Byrne said: “Innovation is part of the Amazon DNA and we are creating a British centre of excellence to design and develop the next generation of TV and film services for a wide range of digital devices.”

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said Amazon’s addition to the city’s business community “is a splendid feather in our cap”.

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