MSN� and eBay today announced plans to expand their relationship and further integrate the consumer services offered by the two companies. The new alliance will make online shopping a more convenient and inclusive part of the daily online activities of consumers by pairing popular offerings from MSN, the world's most visited online network, with eBay, the world's online marketplace.

The deeper integration will allow customers of MSN to receive direct links to eBay for items related to their search queries from the MSN home page, MSN Search, MSN Shopping and MSN Auctions. The integration will make it easier for customers to find eBay listings and expand the potential market for eBay sellers. The companies plan further integration later this year and will continue providing "outbid" and "auction ending" alert notifications to eBay users over the Microsoft� .NET Alerts platform.

In addition to the integrated placements, MSN will showcase eBay's advertising across its network in contextually relevant places, increasing daily awareness of eBay as a place for online consumers to buy and sell their favorite merchandise.