Microsoft is tapping into people's charitable inclinations to promote use of its email and IM products, reports Adweek.

The company's "I'm Initiative" allows people to choose from a range of social charities, to which money is donated when users patronize Live Messenger and Hotmail.

In the latest iteration of the campaign, Microsoft started a blog run by a fictional 20-something, who has vowed to stay awake for 30 days to raise as much money as possible for charity. (The fake blog bears a disclaimer stating it is a promotional effort by Microsoft.)

Videos, pictures and more have been created for the character, and supporting media appears on Facebook, YouTube and Flickr.

The campaign was developed with help from McCann Worldgroup.