To put pressure on Google, Microsoft may share some of its online-advertising revenue with consumers who use its search engine - a concept that would alter how the major search engines operate, writes the Wall Street Journal. The idea was put forth by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates last week in India: "We'll actually go to users and say instead of us keeping all that ad revenue, we'll actually share some of it back with the user…[who] essentially will get paid, either money or free content or software things that they wouldn't get if they didn't use that search engine."

By thus attracting more users, Microsoft would attract more advertisers to buy ads on its online services. A Microsoft spokeswoman said the offer is merely one of many that Microsoft could introduce but has no plan to do so.

Some smaller search sites have tried to attract consumers by sharing ad sales or offering opportunities to win cash prizes. GoodSearch, which uses Yahoo search technology, distributes a portion of its ad revenue to charities or schools selected by users. Iwon, a site run by Ask Jeeves, enters users in sweepstakes for cash prizes based on their use of the site.