Microsoft and America Online are not joining forces and Bill Gates will not pay you to forward an email to all your friends, despite claims made in an email landing in inboxes throughout the Internet.
Microsoft itself says it would like to put the persistent hoax to rest so it wouldn't have to keep answering questions about it.
"Microsoft does try to investigate the source of these hoaxes and take appropriate action. However, many times the hoaxers take elaborate steps to shield their true identities and we cannot identify them," the company said.
The hoax, it turns out, is not exactly new but its latest reincarnation is hitting an entirely new group of Web users who haven't seen it before.
The email claims to be from a lawyer testifying to the authenticity of the claim that Microsoft is testing a new email tracking software and is willing to pay Internet users to help test it.
The email claims that Web users who forward the email to their friends and associates will be contacted by Microsoft and will receive a large check for their effort. It does not explain how Microsoft would know how to get in touch with each Web user.
Internet security experts say the hoax may have been part of a phishing scam at one point, or simply someone's idea of a practical joke. They say it is not possible to trace email as described in the email.
Industry analysts say the idea that bitter rivals Microsoft and AOL would be cooperating on such a venture is among the most far-fetched aspects of the hoax.
