Microsoft earned $623 million in online ad revenue in its fiscal Q2, the last three months of 2007. This represents a rise of $170 million — 38 percent — from 2Q06.

Revenue from online advertising reached $863 million total for the year, reports IT World. $154 million of that amount was attributed to Microsoft's purchase of aQuantive.

Ad revenue for the second half of '07 totaled $1.1 billion.

Microsoft's Online Services Division, of which advertising operations are a portion, recorded a loss for the quarter. But the company expects its relationships, like the Facebook deal and aQuantive acquisition, will pull their weight over the long term.

Listen to the Microsoft earnings webcast.