REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MSN today launched the MSN(R) Holiday Challenge at http://www.msnholidaychallenge.com/ , kicking off the holiday season in style with the help of four celebrities who will share video clues with consumers for a chance to win a share of $100,000 (U.S.) in cash prizes.

The innovative promotion gives consumers the opportunity to win grand prizes of $50,000, $20,000 or $10,000, or daily cash prizes through an MSN exclusive online content scavenger hunt.

The celebrity-hosted video clues direct participants to various sections of MSN: MSN Entertainment, MSN Shopping, MSN Tech & Gadgets, MSN Lifestyle, FOX Sports on MSN, MSN News, MSN Travel, MSN Health & Fitness, MSN Money and MSN Autos. After consumers answer three questions they will be automatically entered for the grand and daily cash prizes. Players may receive clues from one of these celebrities:

-- Al Roker, star of NBC's "The Today Show" -- Kristin Cavallari, star of MTV's "Laguna Beach" -- Jerry Rice, the legendary NFL Super Bowl MVP who was selected to the Pro Bowl 13 times and was recently on "Dancing With the Stars" -- Perez Hilton, one of the Internet's hottest celebrity insiders and bloggers

"The MSN Holiday Challenge is our gift to MSN visitors this season -- tons of fun and helpful holiday information, delivered by the hottest celebrities, with the chance to win big money for the holidays," said Lisa Gurry, director of MSN. "We encourage participants to play every day to learn more, be entertained and win big."

The promotion starts today and lasts through Dec. 20, 2006. Consumers can play once a day to increase their chances of winning. Mr. Youth LLC is handling the promotion for MSN. Official contest rules can be found online at http://www.msnholidaychallenge.com/rules .

About MSN and Windows Live

MSN attracts more than 465 million unique users worldwide per month. With localized versions available globally in 42 markets and 21 languages, MSN is a world leader in delivering compelling programmed content experiences to consumers and online advertising opportunities to businesses worldwide. Windows Live(TM), a new set of personal Internet services and software, is designed to bring together in one place all the relationships, information and interests people care about most, with enhanced safety and security features across their PC, devices and the Web. MSN and Windows Live will be offered alongside each other as complementary services. Some Windows Live services entered an early beta phase on Nov. 1, 2005; these and future beta updates can be found at http://ideas.live.com/ . Windows Live is available at http://www.live.com/ . MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com/ . MSN worldwide sites are located at http://www.msn.com/worldwide.ashx .

About Mr. Youth LLC

Mr. Youth(R) leverages critical relationships and unparalleled experience to provide marketing, partnership, and promotional solutions to corporate marketers looking to reach the elusive 14-22 demographic. Mr. Youth serves as a powerful resource in the development and execution of promotional tactics built to build brand awareness, drive retail traffic, generate buzz, and generate PR coverage.

Mr. Youth(R), a PROMO 100 company, is one of the nation's fastest growing promotional firms. In 2004, Mr. Youth was awarded with the prestigious International Globes Award for Best Use Of Event Marketing in the world. In 2005, Mr. Youth was ranked #6 in the nation by PROMO Magazine for "Quality Of Work" in Promotional Marketing and one of the top 5 fastest growing agencies in the nation.

Mr. Youth's(R) proprietary marketing properties include the TKO Campus Technology Tour ( http://www.tkotour.com/ ), operated in partnership with the Consumer Electronics Association and CollegeFest(R) ( http://www.collegefest.com/ ), the nation's largest back to school college marketing event.

For more information on Mr. Youth, please visit http://www.mryouth.com/. About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

NOTE: Microsoft, MSN and Windows Live are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Becky Emmett of Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, +1-503-443-7000, or
beckye@waggeneredstrom.com; or Rapid Response Team, Waggener Edstrom
Worldwide, +1-503-443-7070, or rrt@waggeneredstrom.com; or Matt Britton of Mr.
Youth, +1-212-779-8712, or mattb@mryouth.com

Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/
http://www.msnholidaychallenge.com/