M$ competes with G and Y in selling ads.

(via the New York Times)

The Microsoft Corporation will unveil today its own system for selling Web advertising as it struggles to compete with Google and Yahoo in the expanding Web search business. The system, to be used by MSN, is meant to improve on those of Microsoft’s rivals by allowing marketers to aim ads on Web search pages to users based on their sex, age or location.

I mentioned a little about this about a month ago on the YPN versus AdSense post. Microsoft calls it the MSN AdCenter.

It has started out in Singapore for a while now and then just recently, in France. Before this, ads served in MSN searches are sold by Yahoo.

Nothing very significant for us bloggers yet but this is one step closer to having something similar to AdSense or Yahoo Publishers Network (which is still not available outside of the US). We at least, independent publishers will have some pretty neat ad servings to choose from later on.