Microsoft Internet Explorer 8: You download, they donate

Download IE 8 for free, and Microsoft will donate food for the hungry until August 8th.
[ Photo courtesy of eyeliam ]

Perhaps Microsoft is tired of being on the receiving end of those hoaxes that promise to donate money to [fill in the cause] if you click on [fill in the Web address]. Or perhaps the company thought all those hoaxers actually had the germ of a good idea: People click when you promise to donate.

Whatever its motivation, Microsoft is encouraging users to download IE8, the latest version of Internet Explorer, and promising to help the hungry in return. For real.

With its “Browser for the Better” campaign, Microsoft is donating enough money to buy eight meals for Feeding America’s network of 206 local food banks for every one download of Internet Explorer 8. Feeding America gets food to more than 25 million Americans every year. To set the donation in motion, you’ve got to download IE8 from the official “Browser for the Better” Web site.

The promotion runs through Aug. 8, 2009.

Internet Explorer 8 was released in March. You should download it (or other new browser versions) for increased security, but be aware of possible compatibility issues. —Will Dilella

Comments

[Paul Eng]

TO: A.T.

Funny you mention Firefox....

Firefox 3.5 Ready for Download
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/electronics/2009/07/firefox-35-web-browser-performance-features-secure-web-surfing-online-multimedia-internet-browser.html

-Paul Eng
Web Sr. Editor, Electronics

[A. T.]

One word: Firefox.

[CyberSkull]

I'm fairly sure the only part of this that is a scam is IE8 itself.

You don't have to install IE8 for this to count, do you?

[rick]

sounds like another scam (within a scam).