"I'm" fad among Chinese MSN users

　　The promotion ad at Windows Live Messenger's official site.

　　It seems that almost all your friends' names on MSN have added a little green "i'm" symbol overnight. If you ask what is going on, someone will tell you it's a charity initiative and send you an intro link.

　　一夜之间，几乎所有的MSN好友都在昵称前加了个'I'm'绿色小图标。如果你问他为什么，他会告诉你这是一个慈善行动，然后再发给你一个有关活动介绍的链接。

　　Though this charity program has not yet officially launched for Chinese users, this little green symbol has proven popular among Chinese Windows Live Messenger users.

　　虽然这个慈善计划还没有在中国正式启动，但事实证明，这个绿色的小图标在中国的MSN用户中已颇受欢迎。

　　Windows Live Messenger's official blog announced on March 1 that Microsoft was launching an "i'm" program in United States. Every time someone starts a conversation using i'm, Microsoft shares a portion of the program's advertising revenue with nine organizations dedicated to social causes. With every instant message a user sends, it helps address issues one feels most passionate about, including poverty, child protection, disease and environmental degradation.

　　3月1日，Windows Live Messenger在其官方博客上宣布微软将在美国启动一项名为'I'm'的计划。只要MSN用户使用带有I'm的昵称开始聊天，参加此项活动的九个社会公益组织就能获得捐款，而微软则可获得此活动的部分广告收益。MSN用户每发一条即时消息，就能帮助你最关注的那个公益事业，其中包括贫困、保护儿童、疾病和环境恶化等。

　　One only has to add certain code next to one's name for the organization one would like to support. "*red'u" is for the American Red Cross, "*bqca" is for Boys & Girls Clubs of America and "*unicef" stands for the American branch of UNICEF.

　　用户只需在MSN昵称前添加一串所支持组织的代码，就可实现这一愿望。如：*red'u代表美国红十字会；*bqca代表美国儿童群益会；*unicef代表美国地区联合国儿童基金会。

　　After a Chinese blogger named "hung" introduced this program on his blog on March 2, "i'm" has invaded the Internet in China with no actual promotional campaign from Microsoft.

　　有个昵称为hung的网友于3月2日在其博客上介绍了这一计划，微软还未在中国正式推广这一活动，“I'm”就在互联网上“遍地开花”了。

　　Beijing-based Youth Weekend reported that famous IT blogger Keso regarded this program's rapid spread as a successful virus marketing case. He thinks that the success of the "i'm" program is because it's spread by users without being a bother to others. This answers why "i'm" has spread so rapidly across the Internet like a virus with almost no promotion.

　　据《北京青年周刊》报道，IT领域著名博友Keso认为此活动的迅速传播是一起成功的病毒营销案例。他认为微软i'm公益活动的成功主要在于用户不会被骚扰。这就解答了为什么没有任何推广，i'm就像病毒一样迅速的蔓延开来。

　　However, Feng Jinhu from the press center for Microsoft China told Youth Weekend that the "i'm" project is only eligible for Messenger users in United States. Instant messages sent by Chinese users would not count.

　　然而，微软中国区公关部的冯金虎在接受北京青年周刊的采访时说，目前这项公益计划仅适用于美国的MSN用户，中国用户的I'm即时消息起不到作用。

　　This has not affected Chinese Messenger users' passion for the little green symbol. These users hope their instant messages will actually become donations to charitable organizations someday.

　　但这并没有影响中国MSN用户的'I'm'热情。MSN的用户们衷心希望，他们所发的即时消息将来有一天能真正为这些慈善组织添一份力。

来源：国际在线