Madonna Does Microsoft!

NEW YORK (AP) - Some boys kiss her, some boys hug her, some boys romance, some boys slow dance, some boys lie and some boys try--but we're guessing all Bill Gates did was just open up his checkbook to get Madonna to fork over the rights to "Ray of Light" as the soundtrack to Microsoft's new Windows XP ad campaign.

Yes, they don't call her the Material Girl for nothing.

Neither Microsoft nor Madonna's camp is disclosing exactly how much she's getting paid for selling her song, but it's probably at least in the same range as the reported $14 million the Rolling Stones banked in 1995 when they let Gates and company use "Start Me Up" for the Windows 95 campaign. Microsoft would only say the company is spending $200 million over four months to hawk the latest version of Windows.

A 15-second "teaser" ad featuring the Madonna tune will debut during ABC's Monday Night Football . Although she's not pictured, Madonna's lyrics ("Faster than the speed of light, she's flying...") are prominently featured as images of people using the new Windows stream by: people sending email, watching video, listening to music, editing graphics. Alas, there's not a single glimpse of Madonna's accountants happily using Windows XP for online banking.

The commercial ends with the tag line: "You soar. Yes you can."

The "Yes You Can" campaign replaces the suddenly ill-fitting "Prepare to Fly" slogan the company initially planned to use but scrapped following the September 11 tragedies.

Microsoft will unveil Windows XP on October 25 in New York. The software giant says the launch event will feature three concerts in the city featuring "surprise" pop stars, but would not say whether Madonna was among the participants.