Believe it or not, but Windows Vista is one of the requirements, and a small step to winning 5,000 gallons of free gas from Microsoft. This provided that you are running a small business. The Redmond company has debuted a new initiative designed to help small businesses, Bump the Slump. The website and the adjacent project are designed to give small business owners guidance through a series of five steps on how they can save money in what Microsoft is referring to as a down economy and enter a contest that could permit them to win no less than 5,000 gallons of free gas.

"Here's the deal: as energy and food prices continue to increase, house values continue to decrease and credit continues to tighten, people keep talking about how the economy is looking worse by the month. Some will say this isn't great news for small business; however, we believe small businesses are uniquely positioned to thrive during these times because they are small. Small often means agile, which allows a company the flexibility to quickly cut costs and button-up operations, becoming more efficient and competitive during these times," explained Eric Ligman, Microsoft US Senior Manager, Small Business Community Engagement.

The initiative debuted by Microsoft Small Business Team is offering small business owners advice on how to save money by using, what else but Microsoft software. Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager along with Microsoft Office Publisher, Microsoft Office Live Meeting, adCenter, Windows Small Business Server and, of course, Windows Vista are the technologies behind a veritable spending cutting down bonanza.

As far as the Windows client is concerned, "Windows Vista can save you as much as $70.77 in energy costs per PC per year compared to a typical PC not running Vista. It saves you money and lets you give Earth a little hug," Microsoft states. What is ironical is that while with a single copy of Vista a user might be able to give the Earth a little hug, burning 5,000 gallons of gas more than makes up for all the "ecology work."

"So, to help out just a little bit, we want to make sure small businesses have the information they need to make smart decisions about cutting costs and becoming more efficient. As a first step in this effort, we are offering 5 money-saving ideas and the opportunity to win 5,000 gallons of gas at BumptheSlump.com. So, check it out, enter to win and remember to pass along the good news. Your customers will definitely love you for pointing them to the gas giveaway and may even want to tap into your small business technical expertise about some of the money-saving ideas," Ligman added.