Microsoft has announced a deal with US newspaper publisher Advance Publications, owner of Conde Nast, to allow advertisers in the ‘Advance Internet Network’ to sell ads across its online properties, including Bing search results.

The deal will see the software giant’s search and display ads appear on more than 30 local Advance US newspaper sites such as The Star-Ledger in Newark, The Plain Dealer in Cleveland and The Birmingham News in Birmingham, in what appears to be Microsoft taking a strike against Google’s dominance in the online ad market.

Advance Internet will be a certified reseller of the Microsoft Media Network that includes Bing, offering local advertisers greater access to users online.

Microsoft has previously attempted to lure local advertisers with its Sidewalk platform, which it sold in 1999 to online city guide Citysearch.

“The local perspective that Advance Internet brings will be incredibly helpful as we develop our reseller efforts,” explained Brian Handly, general manager of PubCenter at Microsoft.

As part of its Conde Nast business, Advance Publications owns titles The New Yorker, Wired, Vanity Fair as well as the Newhouse Newspaper Group.