Microsoft is launching a new initiative via Windows Live Messenger designed to give back. There are many things that can be said about Microsoft, and one of them is that the Redmond Company excels when it comes to philanthropy. And the “I'm making a difference” initiative falls under that category, as Microsoft enables users to actively participate in the donation process.

“i’m is a new initiative from Windows Live Messenger. Every time you start a conversation using i’m, Microsoft shares a portion of the program's advertising revenue with some of the world's most effective organizations dedicated to social causes. We've set no cap on the amount we'll donate to each organization. The sky's the limit. There's no charge, so join now and put our money where your mouth is,” informed Microsoft.

American Red Cross, Boys & Girls Club, National AIDS Fund, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, ninemillion.org, Sierra Club, StopGlobalWarming.org, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the US fund for UNICEF are the organizations that Microsoft will donate money to.

Users will be able to choose which charity to donate to. In order to do so, users need to modify their display name with one of the alternative text code at their disposal. Just look at the end of this article in order to find out the text code for each organization or follow this link. You will actively participate in donations of minimum $100,000 to each charity. The only unfortunate aspect of the initiative is the fact that it is restricted to users in the United States.

Text Code Cause
*red+u American Red Cross
*bgca Boys & Girls Club
*naf National AIDS Fund
*mssoc National Multiple Sclerosis Society
*9mil ninemillion.org
*sierra Sierra Club
*help StopGlobalWarming.org
*komen Susan G. Komen for the Cure
*unicef The US fund for UNICEF