Microsoft to create celebrity site

Microsoft's MSN alongwith media company BermanBraun Interactive will be creating Wonderwall, an online destination for entertainment and celebrity information and photos. MSN has also partnered with MediaVest, which will bring in advertising and sponsorship deals to the site at a later date.

"As long as MSN.com has been around, we've had an entertainment channel," said Rob Bennett, MSN general manager. But people had a hard time finding celebrity news and gossip among the existing Music, TV and Movies channels. "Celebrity content is sort of sprinkled throughout."

With Wonderwall, Microsoft aims to change that and compete in its own right in the competitive celebrity gossip world.

Microsoft hopes to differentiate the site in two main ways, one visually and editorially.

"This site really makes use of the screen real estate. It uses large, beautiful photography, creates great, rich slide shows, video within the experience itself," Bennett said. Wonderwall will attempt to "decommoditize" the stream of celebrity images available from providers such as WireImage by packaging it in interesting ways and applying a unique "spin and voice" on top of it.

"Editorially the site will try to strike a balance between the "catty, snarky almost to the point of disrespectful" tone" he said.

The editor will be Alex Blagg, founding editor of Best Week Ever. A five-person editorial team based in Los Angeles will write original articles and draw from wire services. Eventually, the site may do its own video work, too. "Right now we're focused on text, photos and interactive games," Bennett said.

MSN Entertainment sees about 19 million unique users each month.

Wonderwall.com, which launched in beta this week, was designed to give users a magazine-like experience with a horizontal-scrolling interface filled with photos, videos, and information on celebrities. The display is divided into segments almost as if multiple screens occupy the space, jumbotron-like. On that space photos of celebrities can be clicked to display features such as "Geek Goddesses," "Celebritweets," and "Famous Freekouts." The latter features a pictorial of the "10 Craziest Celebrity Freakouts," seeking to ride the buzz generated by Christian Bale's recent meltdown on the set of "Terminator Salvation."

Ad formats will be designed to suit the site's unique layout. Meanwhile standard banner ads for Kraft's Crystal Light could be spotted today on an article about Jessica Simpson's recent behavior during a concert. Kraft beverage brands is a client of MediaVest, and Microsoft confirmed Kraft Crystal Light was an advertiser that signed on through MediaVest.