Microsoft’s Outlook takes aim at Google’s Gmail

A woman looks at a computer site on November 30, 2012 in Washington, DC. – Just in time for the holidays, Microsoft and Google have become embroiled in a bitter dispute over who is the fairest of them all for online shopping, stepping up the battle between the tech giants. AFP FILE HOTO

SAN FRANCISCO— Microsoft is so confident it has the Internet’s best email service that it’s about to spend at least $30 million to send its message across the U.S.

The barrage begins Tuesday when Microsoft’s twist on email, Outlook.com, escalates an assault on rival services such as Google Inc.’s Gmail.

After keeping Outlook.com in a “preview” phase since July 31, Microsoft Corp. is ready to accept all comers.

To welcome new users, Microsoft is financing what it believes to be the biggest marketing blitz in the history of email. Outlook.com will be featured in ads running on primetime TV, radio stations, websites, billboards and buses. Microsoft expects to spend somewhere between $30 million to $90 million on the Outlook campaign, which will run for at least three months.