A website has launched making it easier for bloggers to endorse products in return for payment by advertisers.

Bloggers as advertising conduits is not a new idea but the launch of PayPerPost has drawn criticism, from the blogosphere, for dealing a further blow to professional journalistic and blogging integrity.

The launch follows research published in December by web monitoring firm Market Sentinel, which suggested bloggers can exert even greater influence online than leading news organisations.

Looking to capitalise on this finding, PayPerPost offers an automated process that allows site members access to an online index of 'opportunities', products or services they can plug in their blogs to earn a fee.

Once signed up, bloggers are given a minimum word limit - anything from 10 to 100 words - offered a suggestion on 'tone' and informed of the fee, usually anything from $2.50 to $15.

The site claims that, through the automated system, bloggers can offer a 'buzz' to products and services.

For bloggers it claims: "You've been writing about websites, products, services and companies you love for years and you have yet to benefit from all the sales and traffic you have helped generate."

Developers call the service 'a new form of advertising' and claim that, because the advert is within a blog, it will get read, indexed by search engines, and syndicated through RSS.

Each post is checked for relevance and must be live for 30 days, at which point payment is made via PayPal.

"Our service offering completely redefines the concepts of product placement, product endorsement, consumer generated marketing, buzz building and search engine marketing. We are leading a blogger revolution," said Ted Murphy, PayPerPost founder.

"Media companies and celebrities have been compensated for endorsement and product placement for years.

"Finally bloggers will be compensated for all the traffic and sales they generate when they blog about products and companies."

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