Microsoft is offering "cold hard cash" to persuade users to shop online using its Live Search engine and help the company catch up to rival Google.

- 21 / 05 / 2008 14:05

The savings range between 2% to 30% on products sold by select retailers through its so called cashback service.

Microsoft's new site is seen as an attempt to convince advertisers it can combat Google's increasing share of the online ad market.

"2008 is the year that search got competitive," said Bill Gates.

Speaking at the company's annual digital ad conference in Redmond, the company chairman laid out details of their latest product and told the audience to expect "big announcements around search to happen every six months".

"The overwhelmingly positive feedback from all the partners confirms there is this opportunity for change," Mr Gates said in his keynote speech at the end of the two-day summit.

Reuters