The Wall Street Journal reports Google opening a €200M server hall in Hamina, Finland, inside what was once a paper mill. 

Why Finland? The combination of cold climate and low electricity prices. 

Being close to the Baltic coast, the Hamina data centre also has a seawater cooling system, while cold weather cools down servers instead of refrigerators. 

Finland is not the only choice for international data centers, either-- an undisclosed "major US internet company" (rumoured to be Facebook) is planning a data center worth 3-5BN Swedish kronor in Luleå, Sweden. 

The Swedish government lists 50 sites suitable for data center use, including what was once Sweden's largest photo laboratory, an underground air-raid shelter and a former printing factory. 

Another reason for the Nordic nations' potential as data center locations? Geographical proximity to the Russian market. 

Go For Data Center, Google Goes for the Cold (WSJ, subscription required)