14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is continuing the adventure in the online realm by adding a new function to the company's upcoming e-mail client with the purpose of making more advertising bucks.
Windows Live Mail Desktop will include what is called Active Search, a concept similar to the Google's Gmail.
Active Search will scan the e-mail messages and extract a list of keywords; based on this, it will display contextual text ads. Moreover, users will be able to search keywords or phrases in a search field placed above the ads.
Advertisers will be given two choices: to place their ads via Kannodle inside the e-mail client or to choose Microsoft adCenter, which will display ads in the result page.
"We've designed Active Search to make it easier for you to act on anything that piques your interest while reading your email. That's why we show you key search terms we find in a message and provide a search box right underneath, so you can quickly search for terms of your own," the Live Mail Desktop team said.
Similarly to the anti-phishing included in the Internet Explorer 7, the software giant is taking measures to avoid being accused of violating users' privacy. For this purpose, the Redmond company requested an audit check to the same company that took care of Internet Explorer. The results said that Windows Live Mail Desktop does not violate user privacy.
Windows Live Mail Desktop will fulfill the role of connecting the OSs to a number of Live services. RSS will be an important part of Windows Live Mail Desktop. The software is able to work as a complete RSS reader, allowing users to organize their feeds in folders and to visualize the items in a preview panel.