ZDNet: Ads-for-content payment system goes live

A bit like Ultramercial which Salon is using to offer day passes to premium content, but more complicated. You can view a demo here.

After a year of public trials, the Pico-Pay micropayment system has gone into full service.

The key difference between Pico-Pay and most other systems is that buyers pay for content by viewing advertising material, just as they do when watching free-to-air commercial television, Pico-Pay executives said.

Buyers can choose which adverts they view. Advertisers benefit from minimum-duration stays imposed by the system and they can set their own price for an ad.