Microsoft Sees the Future in IM

Microsoft enlisted Fallon to create a microsite to promote MSN Messenger 7.5. Dubbed ESPBilly, the site is billed as “An MSN Messenger Films Production. The episodic series features actor Ricky Jay (Deadwood) as a cynical but dead-on fortune teller who advises a college student on his life’s questions via MSN Messenger.

The pilot plays out on its own, but the three episodes play like a “choose-your-own webisode” video. I watched the first one. But when I clicked to see the alternate outcome, my newly updated MSN Messenger crashed.

It’s a well put-together site, but possibly missing a few key elements. Visitors can sign up for MSN Alerts, e-mail updates and even RSS, but there’s no way to send an e-mail — or given the platform, an IM — to a friend.