You can think of these as dumbasses on steroids!

1. Microsoft does blogging
2. lol wink nudge lol

Microsoft meanwhile appears to be focusing on a younger audience with its test version of MSN Spaces, a blogging service that was first introduced in Japan six months ago. The service also includes music and picture sharing capabilities. MSN expects the service to generate revenue both from direct advertising and from connection time, and in the future by selling online storage capacity.

“This is taking blogging mainstream,” said Phil Holden, director of MSN Communication Services. “People just want a good and easy way to share things.”

Microsoft has also added “winks” and “nudges” to the “emoticons” on its new Messenger 7 program. Traditional “emoticons” are facial expressions made with certain keyboard symbols to send smiles or frowns in text messages.

The new wink will send an animated graphic via Messenger, and the nudge will cause the Messenger window on a receiving computer’s screen to vibrate.

“You can think of these as emoticons on steroids,” Mr. Holden said. While he acknowledged that these new features could prove annoying to some users, Mr. Holden said they were likely to create a positive response from younger users.