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TORONTO — Microsoft Corp. plans to open its first international standalone store in Toronto as part of a large-scale retail ramp-up as the software giant becomes the latest hi-tech gadget maker to take its wares straight to consumers.

The stores are intended to create a more direct relationship with buyers, borrowing a page from the playbooks of other technology giants that have been successful with their own branded retail locations — most notably the slick and ultra-cool outlets of Sony Corp. and Apple Inc.

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Microsoft chief operating officer Kevin Turner confirmed Wednesday at the company’s annual Worldwide Partners Conference here that its first standalone retail outlet outside the United States is slated to open in Toronto’s upscale Yorkdale Shopping Centre before year end.

The Toronto outlet is part of a large-scale retail push by the Redmond, Wash.-based company as it looks to capitalize on a slate of new products on tap for this year, including new versions of the company’s flagship Windows operating system, Windows Phone software and Microsoft Surface tablets.