LIVE FROM NOKIA WORLD 2011: Nokia and Microsoft are aiming to create a stronger relationship with Windows Phone app developers by providing them with test phones and ramping up their developer events around the world.

The companies hope to drive development on the Windows Phone platform by giving away 25,000 Windows Phone-powered Nokia Lumia 800 and 710 devices to serious developers for them to work with and test their apps on.

Microsoft’s senior director of Windows Phone 7 development, Brandon Watson, and Nokia’s director for Windows Phone developer experience, Reggi Hutcherson, took to the stage at Nokia World in London to outline how they intend to help developers building on their shared platform.

“We want to build that relationship. We want to hear what you want to build and hand you a phone,” Microsoft’s Watson told developers.

Hutcherson said both Microsoft and Nokia want to talk to as many developers as possible around the world. He added that the companies will help app developers address local needs to extend the reach of their products. “We’re going to use the concept called think global and act local. And what we’re really looking for are those local experiences, the content that drives global reach,” he said.

He said Microsoft and Nokia combined “pretty much covers the earth,” with a presence in 190 countries, meaning that addressing local market needs and communicating them to developers should be viable.

Nokia and Microsoft plan to run more than 1,000 developer events over the next 12 months – around three per day – in which they develop a direct relationship with developers. This work will also see the companies go into universities to tap into the next generation of talent.

“We’re going to talk to as many developers as we can. We’re going to engage with developers across the planet. There is a huge opportunity going forward in terms of defining a new ecosystem,” Hutcherson said.

Other ways in which Microsoft is helping developers is by investing in free developer tools, such as Visual Studio Express . Watson said the rate of downloads has doubled since the Mango version of Windows Phone was announced, hitting 2.5 million in total.

He added that Microsoft has integrated features into Windows Phone to make apps more discoverable by users. App Connect, for example, provides users with a list of apps relevant to searches, often leading them to an app to resolve their query.

“Microsoft is investing in making sure that you as a developer get discovered. [App Connect is] another way for us to bring customers to you,” Watson said.