Dot be scared from the title its not a scam. Microsoft Corporation has launched a campaign called “SearchPerks” where you start earning tickets towards exciting prizes whenever you search the Web, oh did i mentione that the lines “whenever you search the web” actually means “whenever you search the web using Microsoft Live Search, on a Microsoft Windows using a Microsoft IE6 or above”.

So whats the fuss about, well SearchPerks is a short lived campaign by Microsoft where they are making an effort to study how the users use the search engine to search the web, sort of lab rat experiment that’s what i get out of it so far. To become part of the Search Perks campaign you have to first sign up, using Microsoft Live Id (on IE only) before December 31, 2008. Once you sign up you are expected to download Perk Counter a tool that will sit inside you IE and monitor you & keep track of your activity along with the track of the tickes you earn by searching the web.

As soon as you sign up & download Perks counter Microsoft will awarded you with 500 tickets (which you can trade for 300 frequent flyer miles , of course you will have to buy the frequent flyer membership for that). The more you search the more tickets you get and more prizes you can get from the Search Perks prize page.

So far the participation in the promotion is limited to the first 1,000,000 respondents before December 31, 2008. Promotion valid only for legal residents in the 50 United States and Washington, D.C., who are at least 13 years of age, have a valid Windows Live ID, are accepted to participate in the program and participate in the program until its completion on April 15, 2009. So Sign Up now and check it out

In Short

• Get 500 tickets just by signing up and downloading the Perk Counter
• Start searching the Web using Live Search at Live.com and MSN.com, or on Windows Live properties, such as Hotmail and Messenger.
• For every search (up to 25 per day), you’ll earn a ticket towards great prizes
• Stay tuned for additional ways to earn tickets once you join the promotion
• Redeem your tickets for prizes once the promotion ends on April 15, 2009