Video search engine blinkx has announced its first major attempt at monetization, signing a deal with Miva to supply contextual ads for its new Smart Ads platform, which is in its earliest phases but is expected by March or April to display geo-targeted, content-related paid listings from Miva to users of the blinkx toolbar and the blinkx.tv video search engine, reports ClickZ. Ads will be targeted based on Miva's metadata stored with its ads as well as data that blinkx obtains from the ads with its search technology.

The blinkx toolbar can search a user's desktop, the web, or blinkx's library of indexed video content, using a direct keyword search or via an indirect, contextual method based on content a user is viewing, such as a website, a word processing document, or email.

Blinkx cofounder and CTO Suranga Chandratillake sees the potentially controversial approach as the next step in contextually targeted advertising, saying online advertising has generally not made use of the targeting capabilities that the medium affords.

For Miva, the deal is an opportunity to boost traffic on its network and provide advertisers with new targeting opportunities - and represents validation of its globalization efforts, including its recent rebranding effort.