(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Microsoft has fixed a glitch in its online advertising platform that overcharged some merchants by hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of dollars.
In a statement on one of its blogs, the company said the bug in its adCenter service had pushed up 'cost per click' rates, or what an advertiser pays Microsoft each time a Web surfer clicks on an ad.
Microsoft launched adCenter last year, but still lags Google and Yahoo in making money from text ads on search results pages.
The software maker said the affected advertisers' accounts will be credited the amount they were overcharged.
On a message board on the WebMasterWorld Web site, some users wrote that they were overcharged by a dollar or two per click. One member, writing under the name Chrisuk, said he was charged $900 for a single click.
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