Microsoft's Retail Experience Center in Redmond.

Microsoft this week unveiled a new "Retail Experience Center" demonstration space on its Redmond campus. Industry analyst Michael Gartenberg asks on Twitter if the company should go into retail itself. Joe Wilcox of Microsoft Watch responds with a tempered "yes,"

"There's no reason for Microsoft to become a major retailer, on the scale of Apple, unless the sour economy ruins too many retailers," Wilcox writes. However, he adds, "What Microsoft needs, at least for now, are a dozen flagship stores. I recommend: Beijing, Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, New York, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, Sydney and Tokyo (or Seoul)."

It's an interesting notion, and it could certainly help build the Microsoft brand. Seems like it would make sense to launch such a strategy in parallel with the Windows 7 debut later this year. A few years ago, there were reports that Microsoft was considering a flagship store in New York City, but that never came to pass.