MSN Effort Gives New Meaning to 'Paid Search'.

MICROSOFT IS LITERALLY paying people to use its MSN Search. Starting this week, the company will dangle $1 million in prizes and charity donations to people who use the search engine. Those prizes will be awarded randomly when Web surfers enter certain search terms.

Microsoft is spending another $1 million or so to get the word out via radio and online ads for the three-month program.

Winning prizes include plasma TVs, Xbox consoles, certificates from American Express, Target, REI and Nike, as well as Canon PowerShots, and Creative Zen Sleek MP3 players. Customers can also win cash prizes for a non-profit of their choice.

Prizes are linked to 1,200 keywords that have been pre-identified in February. The list will expand in March and April. As customers enter search terms into the query box, they will be taken to an MSN Search Results page, where they will find out if they won.

Radio ads will break March 6. The week-long effort will run in 10 cities and encourage listeners to search to win on MSN. Maloney & Fox, New York, handles. MSN is also planning extensive online support via Heated Details, Edmonds, Wash.

The effort came about after Microsoft upgraded the search engine, which holds 16% of the market, compared to 35% for Google and 32% for Yahoo!, per comScore, Reston, Va.

"We've made considerable changes to our search and we think it's a good time to entice people to try MSN Search and see the improvements," said Lisa Gurry, dir-marketing, MSN Search.

MSN's not the only search engine mulling a pay-for-play program to lure new users. Yahoo! is plotting a program "to reward people who make Yahoo their primary search engine," the company explained in a note broadcast to users. Among the rewards to be offered: Unlimited e-mail storage, frequent flyer miles, Netflix discounts, free MP3s and donations to charity.

~~~~~~~~

By Diane Anderson