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Microsoft launches effort to woo advertisers

Digital Advertising Solutions combines its various global ad products and services under one umbrella for advertisers.

Dawn Kawamoto Former Staff writer, CNET News
Dawn Kawamoto covered enterprise security and financial news relating to technology for CNET News.
Dawn Kawamoto
Microsoft launched on Monday an effort that combines its various global ad products and services under one umbrella for advertisers.

With its new Digital Advertising Solutions, Microsoft will deliver companies' ads to Windows Live, Xbox Live, Office Online, Live Search and MSN users via computers, smart phones, handheld computers and Xbox game consoles.

"As today's consumers spend more and more time online across various digital devices like mobile phones and video games, advertisers are finding they can no longer reach their entire target audience by advertising on a single medium," Joanne Bradford, Microsoft's vice president of global sales, said in a statement.

The software giant hopes to use this advertising effort to gain a larger share in the multibillion-dollar ad market and to bolster its competitive stance against rivals Google and Yahoo.

Earlier this year, Microsoft acquired Massive, which delivers ads to video games. And last year, it launched a paid search advertising program, MSN AdCenter, to take on Google's AdWords.