MSN Money Enters Into an Agreement With 'MoneyTrack' to Offer Unique Video Content Focused on Financial Education

MSN Money Enters Into an Agreement With 'MoneyTrack' to Offer Unique Video Content Focused on Financial Education

The strategic move adds to the powerful existing lineup of multimedia providers on MSN Money.

REDMOND, Wash., April 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft Corp., a worldwide leader in software, services and solutions, and "MoneyTrack," an investing series that airs on PBS television stations, today announced they have entered into an agreement to offer video segments from "MoneyTrack" on MSN Money just in time for U.S. National Financial Literacy Month.

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"MoneyTrack" will introduce video segments of its popular "Scam Alerts," hosted by investing expert Pam Krueger and renowned TV personality Jack Gallagher, on the MSN Money Web site. These segments examine real people with real stories of financial fraud and offer viewers the information they need to help prevent it from happening to them.

Krueger is dedicated to promoting consumer financial education. To bring her expertise to the masses, she launched "MoneyTrack" in 2005 with 13 original episodes. The show provides a unique, lifestyle-driven approach to personal finance and investing. Now in its second season, "MoneyTrack" is seen on more than 135 PBS stations, and that number is increasing each month. The not-for-profit series, funded by the Investor Protection Trust, employs a diverse mix of people and their stories to transform traditional financial education into an interactive, informative format that inspires people to take control of their financial future.

"We see MSN Money as the premier site for consumers to stay on top of their finances, and we're delighted to be a part of providing its 14 million visitors per month with the information they need to make the smartest financial moves," said Krueger, who is the creator, co-host and executive producer of "MoneyTrack." "We look forward to exploring future opportunities to expand our relationship with MSN Money, so we can continue to bring this important and relevant educational content to their consumers."

"Through the strategic agreement with 'MoneyTrack' on PBS, MSN Money is able to offer our customers some of the most objective, high-quality financial content on the Web, further expanding our growing collection of multimedia content on the site," said Chris Jolley, group manager of the Financial Products Group at Microsoft. "Pam and Jack have years of experience helping millions of people become more aware of their finances, and we are thrilled to bring them on board."

The "MoneyTrack" stories on MSN Money will be posted weekly and will be available at http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&brand=money&tab=s1207945467235.

MSN Money continues to expand multimedia offerings through key strategic relationships with well-respected financial companies including CNBC Inc., Kiplinger.com, MoneyShow.com, Morningstar Inc., the Wall Street Journal and Money Talks News. The site also provides original content from award-winning columnists who have been recognized recently for some very big accomplishments. For the second year in a row, a study by Nielsen//NetRatings has confirmed that Jim Jubak and Liz Pulliam Weston are the Web's No. 1 investing and personal finance columnists. In addition, investing expert Jon Markman received a SABEW Award for a series of original columns on the credit crisis, and Liz Pulliam Weston was awarded a national Clarion Award for a series of columns that presented financial benchmarks and tips for people in their 20s thru 60s. All the MSN Money columnists are setting the bar high for online financial content and have received an extremely favorable response from site users.

About "MoneyTrack"

"MoneyTrack" is a fresh new public television series about money and investing that features real people. Every week, co-hosts Pam Krueger and Jack Gallagher's down-to-earth approach helps explain what works and what doesn't work. "MoneyTrack" offers unbiased, non-commercial education to help viewers become wiser and safer investors. Pam Krueger is creator, executive producer, and co-anchor of the "MoneyTrack" series. For more information, visit http://www.moneytrack.org/.

About the Investor Protection Trust

The "MoneyTrack" series is funded by a grant from the Investor Protection Trust (IPT), a nonprofit organization devoted to investor education. Since 1993 the IPT has worked to provide the independent, objective investor education needed by all Americans to make informed investment decisions. For more information, visit http://www.investorprotection.org/.

About MSN Money

MSN Money is a premier online financial resource, providing great original editorial content plus the tools and community to empower investors and engage spenders and savers. Taxpayers can find helpful tax tips, checklists, a tax estimator and the Deduction Finder to help them make informed decisions about filing. MSN Money also helps users stay informed with in-depth and up-to-the-minute data, investment recommendations, valuable tracking tools and opportunities to connect with other active investors to make smart financial decisions. MSN Money is located on the Web at http://www.money.msn.com/.

About Microsoft

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

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Source: Microsoft Corp.

CONTACT: Malia Bennett of Edelman, +1-503-471-6848,
malia.bennett@edelman.com, for Microsoft; or Brianne Carmody-Perea of Brooks
Group, +1-212-768-0860, brianne@brookspr.com, for "MoneyTrack"

Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft's corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft's Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx.

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