I thought Microsoft was already ubiquitous in the technology industry and it pretty much is, but there still are a few places that weren’t exploited yet. One of those sectors is: celebrity gossip. Well, it was…

Microsoft-owned Web portal MSN launched yesterday its celebrity gossip site Wonderwall.com, which features a plethora of star photos and news and wants to provide visitors with the feeling of flipping a news magazine, but online.

MSN hopes to convince users to spend more time on the site than elsewhere on the Web portal. The increased traffic on Wonderwall.com will hopefully lead to new methods of advertising. 

Wonderwall.com is the result of a partnership between MSN and BermnanBraun Interactive, a Hollywood company that has television and film divisions. The Santa Monica, California-based company is run by ex-Yahoo media head Lloyd Braun.

The site’s users will enjoy juicy gossip and even juicier photos of their favorite celebrities on a sideways scrollable wall. The site is full of celebrity photos which are literally hung on the scrollable wall.

Wonderwall.com marks a departure from TV-borrowed advertising methods which focus mainly on video ads, said Rob Bennett, MSN’s general manager of network programming. Mr. Bennett added that the advertising industry stayed in that mode for too long and that pushing the innovation in this field will be an advantage for MSN.

Bennett also gave an example of the new advertising ways MSN might implement. For example, if a star featured in a photo on Wonderwall.com is wearing a certain brand of sunglasses, users could click on the image to find out more about the item and purchase it if they want to.

The competition is tough in the field of online celebrity gossip. With market leaders like TMZ.com, a joint venture of Telepicture Productions and AOL, PerezHilton.com, Defamer.com, People.com, and a few others, it won’t be easy. Nevertheless, Wonderwall.com relies on its interactive, eye-catching layout and a team of writers to produce unique content.

"We think it's something that the users will just naturally understand and have fun with," said Bennett.

Some of the site’s categories are Top Celebs and LOL Pics and the funniest photos of celebs from around the Web.

Wonderwall.com is undoubtedly a bold move from MSN and it surprised everyone. There is a lot of money to be made from the online gossip and the site may prove to be a smart move from MSN.

MSN and Berman Braun have reportedly set up a joint deal with MediaVest to attract brand name sponsors.

The latest statistics from tracking firm Comscore show that 84 percent of Web users visit an entertainment site every month.