For months now, Amazon.com has been quietly cultivating the U.S. government as a customer for its cloud-computing business. The online retailer established an office in the Washington, D.C. area, hired an ex-FBI official to help lead its operations there, and recently held a training session for government IT contractors. Now comes word that Amazon has leased new internet data center space in northern Virginia to support its efforts to move federal agencies onto its cloud platform.

Data Center Knowledge reports Amazon "recently leased a 110,000 square foot property in northern Virginia to expand its data center footprint," adding the new space " will help accommodate dramatic growth for Amazon Web Services." Amazon already operates a "major East Coast data center" in Ashburn, Va., according to the report. Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith had no comment.

With the Obama administration making positive noises about cloud computing, and the federal, state and local cloud computing market projected to grow to more than $1.4 billion by 2013, it's not hard to see why Amazon is targeting Uncle Sam. The key question for Amazon is whether security-conscious government agencies will embrace the cloud -- and be comfortable storing their data with an ecommerce company.

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