Microsoft and Asus have teamed up to present a new advertising smarm-storm intended to extol the virtues of Windows on netbooks - and smear Linux.

The joint effort's spawn is a website entitled "It's Better with Windows." It's a simple site with a simple message: Windows can prevent poor, unsuspecting non-techies from "dealing with an unfamiliar environment or major compatibility issues."

And, yes, that's their emphasis, not ours.

The Asus-hosted site features a teeth-grindingly vapid video showcasing happy multiculties as they enrich their lives by using Asus Eee PCs running Windows, complete with a soundtrack of some of the most jejune tunes you may ever have the misfortune to endure.

Watch it if you dare.

Netbooks were once a happy hunting ground for Linux, but Microsoft has steadily gained ground on the open sorcery of that freely available OS - so much so that an NPD report last month stated that the Windows installation rate on netbooks has grown from 10 per cent in the first half of 2008 to 96 per cent in February 2009.

And now it appears that 96 per cent isn't enough for Microsoft. They want it all.

Why? Well, as the site proudly proclaims, Windows is trusted, familiar, and compatible. And, by implication, Linux isn't.

Those nice folks in Redmond and their co-conspirators at Asus are just trying to help. ®