Microsoft is to licence the places database built up by the local search and check-in app maker Foursquare, and has also invested in the company.

Devices using Windows, Windows Phone and Bing will be able to use the Foursquare data to provide “contextually-aware experiences and the best recommendations of any service in the world”.

In practice, this will mean Microsoft devices will provide users with restaurant and entertainment recommendations related to their location using Foursquare data.

According to Foursquare, its crowd-sourced database now has more than 60 million entries and five billion check-ins.

Microsoft also joined Foursquare’s Series D funding round, which in December valued the company at more than $600 million. Microsoft is reported to have contributed $15 million to the total.

Foursquare said the investment will help it to continue to build its product and make sure people get access to its technology.

“It’s one of the leaders in the space we work in looking at us and saying we can really help power the next generation of devices,” Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley told Bloomberg.

With Foursquare thought not to have converted its potential into significant revenue, the licensing agreement will provide another useful source of income.

Foursquare rolled out ads for local businesses in October last year as part of its efforts to develop its business model and boost revenue.

The company secured $41 million in funding in April last year with reports that it attracted acquisition interest from Microsoft and American Express.