Is Profitshare MSN’s new big idea?

With Bill Gates in India paving the way for a $1.7bn investment in the subcontinent over the next four years, no new Gatesean announcements should be expected. However, he has apparently floated the idea of sharing the profits from search revenues with searchers themselves.

Internet Outsider comments: “… if MSN, Yahoo! et al can’t compete on functionality and user experience, then perhaps they can lure Google searchers away with other incentives. … because even the most ardent Google fan may someday begin to resent the fantastic amount of money that they make for Google each time they click.”

A search profitshare deal would certainly put some legs back in the Redmond / punter relationship.