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Microsoft to pay searchers

In an attempt to undercut Google's standing as the most popular guide to the Web, Microsoft has announced that it is offering cash incentives for people who use the company's often-overlooked search engine, reports the Washington Post.

Live Search Cashback offers discounts to consumers who do their Internet shopping using the Microsoft engine. Typing "video cameras" into Live Search and then selecting a model, for example, a user can see merchants offering discounts from 2 to 9 percent. In a speech announcing the rebates, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates predicted that the program would attract more consumers to Microsoft's search engine and potentially change the economics of Internet search. However analysists said that the process of enrolling for rebates was "awkward and confusing."

Washington Post

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