Microsoft Corporation and Facebook.com announced that they are taking their electronic relationship to the next level: advertising. Microsoft Corp. is paying $240 million for a 1.6 percent share in Facebook, the popular social networking Web site.

In 2006, Facebook named Microsoft the only nationwide advertiser for banners. Now, the relationship has expanded to allow Microsoft Corp. to be the lead in advertisement provider, both nationally and internationally, for the site until 2011.

“We have partnered well over the past year and look forward to doing some exciting things in the future,” said Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft’s Platforms and Service division, at the press release Oct. 24, 2007.

Owen Van Natta, Facebook’s chief revenue officer, agrees.

“We think this expanded relationship will allow Facebook to continue to innovate and grow as a technology leader and major player in social computing, as well as bring relative advertising to nearly 50 million active users of Facebook,” Van Natta said.

Facebook is a commonly used social network, with demographics ranging from young teens to working adults. Previously used as a social network for college students, Facebook expanded in 2006 to include membership for the entire global population. More than half its users are not college students. The site has more than 50 million users worldwide, and more than half of those users log on daily.

“I use Facebook all the time,” junior Olivia Miasik said. “I think it’s great that their idea has transformed into such a large global network.”

Founded in 2004 by Harvard alumnus Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook is currently valued at $15 billion. The privately owned company has become the sixth most trafficked Web site in the United States, according to comScore, and averages about 200,000 new members every day. ComScore also reports that Facebook is the number one photo sharing network on the internet, with more than 14 million photos uploaded daily.

Microsoft Corporation, founded in 1975, is a leader in global technology with more than 565 business cites worldwide. Their new partnership with Facebook may help the corporation expand their technology to the Internet.

“Making this investment and expanding this partnership will position Microsoft and Facebook to better take advantage of advertising opportunities around the world, and is a great win not only for our two companies, but also our collective users and advertisers,” Johnson said.

[Reach reporter Lia Pittman at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]