Is this the ultimate product placement? Microsoft is expanding its relationship with Rovio, the developers of the hit mobile game “Angry Birds,” to boost its Bing search engine. Under the partnership, users of the iPhone and Android versions of the game who fail a level three times will be prompted from inside the game to use Bing to access cheats and videos to help them advance in the game.
Plans for the limited-time integration with Angry Birds were announced in conjunction with a new four-part online animated “Angry Birds” series sponsored by Bing, available on the search engine’s YouTube channel.
Microsoft declined to say how much it’s paying for the Bing integration into the game, but the company can use every bit of exposure it can get as it tries to catch up to Google in the search business. As noted by CNet News.com, Microsoft and Rovio previously integrated Bing into the Valentine’s Day update for the Angry Birds: Seasons game
Angry Birds is expected to be released for Microsoft’s own Windows Phone later this year.
