Newcastle centre forward Michael Owen is among five world-class footballers signed up by MSN to provide exclusive content in the run up to the World Cup next year in Germany.
MSN has created a destination with football content to provide advertisers with football-themed opportunities.
Football stars Michael Owen, Ronaldinho, Gianluigi Buffon, Xabi Alsonso and Edgar Davids will provide MSN with behind-the-scenes insights into life as a world-class footballer. More big names are to be announced.
Fans will be able to access online player diaries and view weekly webcasts, where the players comment on their team performances and personal successes.
MSN Messenger users will also be able to challenge friends to an online game based on the World Cup.
MSN is developing a series of sponsorships packages that can be tailored to individual client. These include MSN Messenger football Theme Packs, with branded emoticons and backgrounds; MSN Messenger Alerts, signalling when players' blogs are updated and highlighting local news; and sponsorship of each of the footballer's content areas, allowing advertisers to directly link brands to exclusive reports from these top footballers.