Pop-ups add new twist

Thanks default1206...Pop-up advertisements, already the bane of millions of Web surfers, are becoming more intrusive. Pop-up and pop-under ads open a new window when people visit many popular Web sites, often littering the computer desktop with multiple browser screens. Advertisers hope people will visit the promoted Web page by clicking anywhere on the window, although many simply close it by selecting the "X" box in the top-right corner.

But a relatively new feature may make it harder for people to avoid these windows. Using a technique called the "kick through," advertisers can direct a person to another Web site if they simply move their cursor across the pop-up ad--no clicking is necessary.

Discount travel retailer Orbitz, for example, is delivering millions of holiday-themed kick-through ads on The New York Times, ESPN.com and CondeNast sites in addition to others. The ads feature various animated games, and recipients who simply "mouse" over them are shuttled to Orbitz's home page.

Many people who have encountered the ads say they overstep the boundaries of an already intrusive and loathed form of Web advertising.

"When I tried to close the window it kicked me to the site, which is really annoying when I have six windows open and three of which were not by my own doing," said Diane Schreiber, a high-tech executive who lives in Brisbane, Calif.

Chicago-based Orbitz, which appears to be the only advertiser using the kick through, defended the strategy. The company regularly uses pop-unders to invite people to search for discount travel fares. Because online travel has such widespread appeal, ads that "roll over" directly to the site hold value for many people, according to the company's interactive ad agency, Otherwise.

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