Redmond, Washington-based software leader Microsoft is preparing to launch a pilot program combining its  Silverlight Streaming online video development platform with its pay-per-click advertising program adCenter, that will allow United States users to earn money through a revenue sharing plan, the company announced this week. "This spring we'll be launching a pilot program to offer turnkey advertising with the Silverlight Streaming video service," Remy Pairault, Microsoft Senior Program Manager for Silverlight Streaming wrote Wednesday on a company blog. Silverlight is a browser plug-in that competes with Adobe products such as Flash and Apple QuickTime and is available for both Windows and Apple Macintosh computers. Spring Launch Expected Microsoft's Silverlight Streaming service, which was announced in April 2007, allows users to stream video of up to a total of 10 Gigabytes and 5 Terabytes of transfer bandwidth without cost. The pilot program, aimed at testing how Microsoft's Silverlight Streaming and adCenter services can work together, is actively seeking participants who already have Silverlight Streaming accounts to test the inclusion of contextual advertisements into Silverlight videos. Microsoft has an online signup form available for those looking to be considered for the first phase of the upcoming test, which it calls a "Silverlight Streaming contextual advertising" pilot program. The pilot was announced earlier this month at Microsoft's MIX'08 conference in Las Vegas, an event that allows users of Microsoft technology to engage and question company developers and executives about Web initiatives. "This pilot program will allow a control group of Silverlight Streaming account holders to take Silverlight videos and automatically insert contextual advertisements into the end-user video playback experience," Pairault wrote in the Wednesday blog entry. Revenue Sharing Pilot Program In early April Microsoft developers will select participants from the online submissions, although details about the number of testers that will be chosen has not yet been disclosed. Microsoft expects to notify those selected for the pilot Silverlight adCenter program in late April, and will then allow participants to take part in the test by uploading video content. Microsoft will increase the number of testers in the pilot program over the upcoming months, Pairault noted. After pilot program participants give Microsoft a list of keywords to be associated with each video submitted, adCenter advertisements "optimized for the viewer will be displayed as part of the playback experience," Microsoft noted. Those in the test are expected to then spread the new ad-enhanced videos on their Web sites and blogs, a list of which is required by Microsoft before being considered to take part in the Silverlight Streaming pilot. "This is a real program, with revenues paid in US dollars, and it will include revenue sharing for the accounts participating in the trial," Pairault added. Microsoft Readies Silverlight adCenter Revenue Sharing Pilot Silverlight may be playing a part in Microsoft's possible move to circumvent traditional search sites on the web, and Microsoft Product Manager on the Web Platform and Tools team Brian Goldfarb described Silverlight as "a cross-browser, cross platform plug-in that will usher in a new generation of media experiences and applications on the Web." Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said that Silverlight is changing the way the Web is used, and that, "...the future of the Web experience [is] that you're not going to think about it as just being text, or click and wait long periods of time, really will be created around that Silverlight runtime [environment]..." With the pilot program announced Wednesday, Microsoft appears ready to expand its position within the lucrative online advertising market. Microsoft noted the importance of the online advertising market in a statement last month as it announced its intention to pursue a takeover of Yahoo, citing estimates predicting growth in the area "from over $40 billion in 2007 to nearly $80 billion by 2010." Earlier this month Microsoft announced that it had signed an agreement to purchase privately held San Francisco-based Internet advertising management firm Rapt. Related Links:
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