MSN comes to the help of last-minute online holiday shoppers. Through the MSN Shopping's Procrastination Central, shoppers will be able not only to avoid crowds of shoppers in commercial locations but also to access a wide array of stores that will deliver the purchased gifts right in time for the holidays.

"Procrastination Central allows people to finish their holiday shopping with tools that make it easy to browse, select, purchase and deliver gifts for their loved ones. The U.S. version of the site lists thousands of products from hundreds of top retailers that include Amazon.com, Blue Nile Inc., Brookstone, Circuit City, drugstore.com inc., Godiva, Target and Williams Sonoma. Most people intend to shop early during the holiday season but rarely do, according to the U.S. Online Retail Holiday Forecast 2006 from JupiterResearch. Instead they end up making purchases later in the season each year," revealed Microsoft.

Following "Black Friday", the day after Thanksgiving, Microsoft has revealed that MSN Shopping has experienced a traffic record. Starting with the debut of the online holiday shopping season, the traffic recorded by MSN Shopping has increased with 21% compared to the similar period of the past year.

"MSN Shopping makes it easy for shoppers to secure that perfect last-minute gift at the perfect price. Shoppers can compare more than 30 million products from over 8,000 stores all in one place. The site features a new online coupons section, which is updated daily, and offers interactive gift guides for Him, Her, Baby, Kids, Teens and Pets as well as ideas for Hot Gifts under $25, Romantic & Sexy Gifts, Stocking Stuffers, and Editors' Picks," added Microsoft.