TWITTER IS CURRENTLY trying to decide whether it should base its European operations in Dublin or London when it expands its presence in the continent next year, it is reported.

The Guardian claims that the firm – which is currently sizing up its options for a European base – is trying to finalise a decision on which of the two cities should play host to its business.

It says that when some of its staff visited Dublin a few weeks ago, they were told Twitter had already begun the process of opening a Dublin base, though that was denied by a Twitter spokesman, who merely said the company would begin hiring European staff in 2011.

Jemima Kiss predicts that Twitter is likely to follow the mould laid down by other US multinationals based in Ireland, with an Irish corporate base so as to exploit the 12.5% corporation tax rate.

That Irish office could, however, keep official corporate command over a more extensive London operation.

The UK government is known to have been pursuing a reasonably aggressive campaign to attract Twitter to London; David Cameron and Boris Johnson invited Twitter executives to meet them in Downing Street last week.

Google and Facebook have both already based their headquarters for the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) in Dublin.