MSN and paid results demographics

This is something Im surprised I didnt hear from anyone today. MSN's new paid listings are going to be able to be targeted by demographic. From there other programs like hotmail, etc. Here is an insert from it. My opinion, this is scary, but it can be great to go right after the target market you want, it makes PPC more effective.

Microsoft's paid search platform will provide detailed -- but not personally identifiable -- information, such as gender, age and location, for many people who use its search engine, allowing advertisers to target their ads to a specific audience.

Yusuf Mehdi, a corporate vice president with the MSN unit, said Microsoft has gathered this personal information by tracking users who have logged into its Hotmail e-mail program or other Microsoft Web sites, and then matching the data they provided with publicly known demographics, such as average income for a particular ZIP code.

The company uses computer addresses to track who's who, but Mehdi said it will not release names or other personally identifiable information.

For example, a car company could choose to have Microsoft display its sports car link when a man types in certain keywords, and a link to an SUV model when a woman uses the search criteria.

Microsoft would then provide the company with detailed information about the demographics of the people who clicked on its ads.