Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Yahoo have entered into a pact to create new research and development centers that will test the limits of cloud computing.

The three IT giants announced plans July 29 to create what they are calling Cloud Computing Test Beds that will allow enterprises, universities and government entities to test the software, data center management and hardware needed to create large-scale cloud computing infrastructures.

Intel, HP and Yahoo are also including Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany in the new partnership. Altogether, the companies will create six R&D centers, including facilities at HP Labs, Intel Research and Yahoo.

While analysts believe that true cloud computing is anywhere from five to 10 years away, this type of infrastructure holds the promise of saving money and resources by allowing businesses and universities to offload some or all of their IT infrastructures to a third party and allow for applications to be delivered through the Internet.

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