Microsoft Plans to Sell Search Ads - Privacy Concerns?

Microsoft has announced that it plans to enter the search advertising market, creating their own advertising system to rival Google and Yahoo. Microsoft's "improvement" is to by allow advertisers to aim ads on its search pages to users based on their sex, age or location.

Matching a user's search history with her personal characteristics (which Microsoft will know if she is a Hotmail or Passport user) has potential privacy implications, which I've discussed previously here and here.

Technorati tag: privacy