RIM picks Irving, Texas, for U.S. headquarters

TORONTO Dec 17 (Reuters) - BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd RIM.TORIMM.O has chosen Irving, Texas, as the location of its U.S. headquarters, the company and government officials announced on Monday.

RIM, which is based in Waterloo, Ontario, is expected to employ more than 1,000 people in the region over the next several years. The posts will include jobs in research and development, technical support, business operations and administration.

The company, which is slated to report its latest quarterly results later this week, will occupy more than 100,000 square feet of space.

"RIM continues to expand its operations to help address the growing market opportunity for BlackBerry products and services around the world," RIM co-chief executive, Jim Balsillie, said in a statement.

The statement contained no financial details. A RIM spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.

($1=$1.01 Canadian) (Reporting by Wojtek Dabrowski; Editing by Bernadette Baum)