Google Launches Widget Ads for Adsense Network

Google is seizing on the popularity of widgets — small online tools that function like mini-Web sites — for its latest push into advertising. The online giant will announce today a Gadget Ads program that will provide tools for advertisers to run widget ads in Google’s AdSense network. Marketers can use space within these display ads on Google’s network to show videos, offer chats with celebrities, play host to games or other activities. If consumers like the widget ad, they can save it onto their desktops or on their profile pages online on sites like Facebook and MySpace. The new widget ads represent a more aggressive push by Google to attract big brand advertisers who like flashy ad units rather than the simple text ads commonly run in Google’s ad network.
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