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Instant Messaging Giveaway

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the a/s/l dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft is planning on giving away $1000/hr randomly to users of the new MSN messenger. They are going to send instant messages to the winners. I can just see it now, 'You've won $1000 in the MSN Messenger giveaway, just go this website and enter your SS# and credit card info for verification.'" Where's Ed McMahon with the big check when you need him?

2 of 426 comments (clear)

  1. No Purchase Necessary? by Thoguth · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Most giveaways are explicitly required to have rules that allow people to be eligible to win without purchasing a product. If such a rule applies to this contest, they'll have to have a way for people to enter without purchasing Windows, won't they?

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  2. Could be illegal in some countries... by the_germ · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In Germany a company cannot hold up a lottery where only users of it's product can participate.

    So if for example Coca-Cola puts some random numbers on the inside of their bottles and makes some kind of lottery of it, it must provide the same winnning chance to people who just call in though they haven't bougth the product (and not obtained a number).

    So Microsoft would need to provide the same chance for getting the bucks to everyone who's using another IM as well.

    Don't know how it's handled in other countries, but I think it's like that in many European countries.

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