Microsoft’s MSN has launched its paid search service in France and Singapore, according to the portal’s SVP Yusuf Mehdi.

Mehdi described the service, which is powered by MSN’s in-development adCenter platform, during his keynote address at the kick-off of Advertising Week in New York.

The features resemble those now available through Google AdSense and Yahoo! Search Marketing, but with some twists. They include a manual keyword selection tool, a “site analyzer” keyword suggestion module, demographic targeting, and assistance with budget allocation. The launches — today in France and on August 31 in Singapore — follow pilot programs in both countries.

The service is the first component of a total ad management platform that the Microsoft will use to sell media across all its channels and properties. Mehdi said adCenter will offer media planning and buying across everything from Web to e-mail to interactive TV.

It will be interesting to see how this develops over time…continue reading at clickz.com ]