Amazon today announced plans for a digital media development center in London, which will focus on the creation of new digital services for TVs, game consoles, smartphones, and PCs.

The center, which will open in the "coming months," will be staffed by design and development teams from Pushbutton and Lovefilm, both of which are owned by Amazon.

The retailer purchased the Netflix-like Lovefilm in Jan. 2011 in order to boost its movie rental/purchase presence in the U.K. According to Amazon, the center will include employees who previously worked on Lovefilm Instant, which provides streaming access to movies and TV shows for £4.99 per month.

"London is a hotbed of tech talent and testament to that fact is Amazon choosing the capital as the location for the new global Digital Media Development Centre," Paula Byrne, managing director of the center in London, said in a statement. "Innovation is part of the Amazon DNA and we are creating a British centre of excellence to design and develop the next generation of TV and film services for a wide range of digital devices."

London mayor Boris Johnson said "we know we have the talent, the space and infrastructure to make the most of the digital economy [and] this will be my prime message during [Olympic] Games-time, as I seek to woo even more companies for the capital, delivering jobs and growth for Londoners. Amazon's investment propels us well up the league table of global tech cities and we thank them for their vote of confidence."

Amazon is not without its digital rivals in the U.K. Earlier this month, U.K. television provider BSkyB launched its NOW TV Internet service. That came several months after Netflix launched in the U.K. and Ireland for £5.99 a month in the U.K. and 6.99 Euros in Ireland.

If the rumors are true, meanwhile, Amazon users might have a few new devices on which to access their content. Reuters reported today that Amazon is readying five to six new tablets, including a 10-inch model.