(26 July 2007 8:25 pm)

MUMBAI: Microsoft Corp has replaced Google and become exclusive provider of display and contextual advertising for Digg, a web site that lets readers recommend articles to others.

The three year agreement is aimed to help Microsoft to get a stronger hold on the growing online advertising market.

According to online audience measurement firm Hitwise Inc, Digg is one of the most-visited web site for technology news, and the agreement will help it focus on improving its site without having to create its own sales to sell banner advertising.

"Our collaboration with Digg is about bringing our advertising technology and sales force to one of the fastest-growing sites on the web and a true innovator in user generated content," said Microsoft Online Services Group SVP Steve Berkowitz.

Microsoft and Federated Media Publishing, Digg's current advertising partner, also plan to collaborate to bring integrated programs to Digg's users and advertisers, informed an official release.

"As the Digg audience continues to grow and diversify, we believe that this initiative with Microsoft, and the resources that it provides, will enable us to focus less on developing an advertising infrastructure and more on developing new and innovative features for the site", said Digg CEO Jay Adelson.

Digg has an estimated 17 million visitors a month and is positioned as a site which challenges the long-held journalistic assumption that editors know best what people want to read and allows readers to 'digg' or vote for a story to push up its rankings.